Fallout: The Price of Defiance
by eaglescorch
Summary: The Lone Wanderer has been through a dark road. Now it's getting worse. Supremacy One has begun a march on the Capital and everything is riding on his ability to defeat them, but to do that he needs help. He needs the Courier, and he's dealing with his own problems trying to get there to stop his old foes. Little do they know Supremacy One is the least of their worries.
1. No End in Sight

The sequel to Fallout: Supremacy One. This time it will be longer, more detailed, and easier to follow from the beginning. Also seeing as though there are multiple characters i'm going to start naming locations and times. Im introducing the Lone Wanderer and the Capital Wasteland to the monster that is Supremacy One and the legend of the Courier. I fully intend to answer the questions poised by the first story. Please Review and tell me what you think. Im open to suggestions on where to go later.

Read and Enjoy!

* * *

Fallout: The Price of Defiance

Chapter 1

No End in Sight

* * *

Lucky 38, New Vegas: 8/17/2286

One Year after the Mojave Attacks

"You're sure?" John asked.

"It's my job to be sure." Ulysses said.

John Hollister, the Courier, was in his usual weekly update meetings with key members of the New Vegas Confederacy. Since last year, the meeting had usually been about reconstruction efforts and updates on the war with the Revolusionist Federation. Today's, however, had a very sore and grim topic.

"How did Supremacy One regroup this quickly?" John asked, worriedly.

"It may be like you thought." Elder McNamara cut in. "They may have never been defeated at all, only slowed in their campaign of devastation."

"How do we stop them?" Trudy asked.

"All of our resources are focused on the war, and the Old World Guard doesn't have the resources for an all-out war." Marcus stated. "It would be suicide to confront them."

"Maybe not." Ulysses said. "They don't seem to be concerned with us. Rather they seem to be focusing somewhere on the east coast."

John looked across the table they were at and raised an eyebrow at Ulysses.

"Well... They may have a genuine concern..." McNamara said.

John turned and looked at the elder.

"What?" John asked.

"Well... You see..."

"Spit it out, Nolan." Arcade said.

This was a moment which McNamara dreaded. The moment where he would have to tell them about the expedition and The Capital Wasteland.

* * *

Citadel Courtyard, Capital Wasteland

Sarah Lyons and her team made their way across the courtyard, watching the new recruits go through their rigorous training. As they walked up to a waiting Elder Lyons, the radio boomed.

"People of the Capital Wasteland, it's me! Three Dog! BOW WOW! I'm coming to you live from the bunker I call home. You may be asking yourself: Three Dog, what's going on? You're not joking around or making some smart alec comment. That's true children. That's because today is a special day. Nine years ago, today, was the day everything changed. Nine years ago, today, was the first rumor of a certain door opening in the wasteland. Nine years ago, today, my friends... was the first sighting of that crazy kid from Vault 101. Since that day he has saved our lives time and time again, from disarming the bomb in Megaton, to wiping out the Enclave, to activating Project Purity. The Lone Wanderer is a hero in every definition of the term. Whatever he does now, you'll here it from me first. Three dog... OUT!"

Lyons never didn't hear something about the Lone Wanderer, or Leon Stinger to the people he knew, on GNR. It was often just a little bit interesting to hear what he was up to when he wasn't with the Pride.

"Elder, reporting for duty." She said, addressing her father formally.

"This isn't a Brotherhood operation. You don't have to address me formally."

The Sentinal looked at him, confused. "I'm sorry, I was under the impression..." She looked at the Elder, realizing she didn't need to apologize. "Should I tell the Pride to leave?" She asked.

"While this isn't a Brotherhood operation, it is a Lyons Pride mission. I need the full team." Elder Lyons said.

"Should I call for Senior-Knight Stinger?" Sarah asked.

"No, as a matter of fact, the mission is about Leon." He said, sadly.

Sarah's expression went grim. "What's happened? Is he alright?"

"Well, truthfully, I don't know." Elder Lyons said. "As you've probably noticed over the past few months since the... Cross Incident, he's been off his game, so to speak. He previously updated every week with his coordinates and missions, in case we could provide assistance. In recent months, however, he didn't update as often. For about two weeks now, he just dropped off the map. No communication. No sightings. No word." The Elder seemed very sad.

Before Sarah could speak again, the Pride entered the conversation.

"Do you want us to track him down?" Dusk cut in. She seemed genuinely concerned.

"What if the Outcast's caught him? Should we take him down?" Gallows asked.

"We can't afford to lose anyone else not after... Well...You know." Kodiak said.

Before they could continue, the Elder regained the conversation again. "Nothing so drastic. As a matter of fact, I just want you to look around. I doubt something damaging has happened." The Elder walked away, leaving Sarah to control the team.

"So where do we look first, ma'am?" Colvin asked.

"Oh, I know exactly where to look. Pack up! We're going to Megaton!"

* * *

Megaton: 8/18/86 7:43

The Pride entered the town to be greeted by Lucas Simms, who was surprised to see them there.

"Well, I didn't expect this. I would have figured you'd come with Leon. Then again I guess he would have warned me as well." The grizzled Sheriff said.

"That's why were here. We need to find him." Sarah said.

"I believe I can help." A familiar voice said.

Sarah turned and saw Fawkes. He looked down at the team.

"Fawkes... Its been a long time." She said, shaking the mutants hand.

"Indeed, old friend." Fawkes said. "Come, Leon's in his house. Be warned, though, he's... A little strained."

"Mentally or Physically?" She asked.

"Both." Fawkes replied.

They entered the house, and Sarah looked around. In all the years she knew him, she had only seen the inside of his house once. She looked around and saw Dogmeat's puppy lying on the ground, asleep.

_Poor Boy..._ She thought when thinking of the noble old dog who died some time ago. That day was one of the saddest days she could remember. That day, she saw Leon burst into tears, collapse to the ground, and go into shock. They had rushed him to Doc Church, and he was unconscious for days. That was one of the hardest days in both their lives.

"He's upstairs." A voice said. Sarah turned and saw Wadsworth.

"Thanks..." The robot butler was a particularly uncomfortable situation for Sarah. She didnt trust many robots, mainly because they were always shooting at her.

"Sir! We have guests!" Wadsworth yelled.

"We don't have guests, Wadsworth." A Crackling, weak, croak, voice announced.

"Leon, Its me." She said.

"Sarah?" The voice asked.

"Yes... Please come out and speak to us. My father is worried about what's happened to you."

There was no reply, just a rustling. They heard a chair move and a door opened. The Lyons Pride entered the room, and were horrified when they saw the Lone Wanderer. Even Sarah Lyons, Sentinal of the Brotherhood of Steel, was taken aback by the sight.

Leon was in shambles. His usually slick back flowing short cut hair was spread out in almost a castaway hairstyle, his usual rough beard wasn't doing much better. He looked as though he been starving himself, his whole body was down to the bones, they could see it through his dads old vault suit. He looked like he was going to collapse, he was holding himself up on a branch, used as a makeshift cane.

"Leon..." She whispered. He tried to move down the stairs, but instead fell thrashing down to the bottom. They ran and picked him up on his feet.

"What happened to you?" Sarah asked.

"I guess I did." Leon said. "After the incident, I just felt like i lost it all. I never had that much of my freinds blood on my hands."

"Kodiak! Get me some medical supplies from Doc Church." Sarah said, throwing him a bag full of caps.

"Roger." He said, running out the door.

They sat Leon on his couch.

"I'm sorry." Leon said.

"No I am." Sarah replied. "I should have been more vigilant."

Leon was glad he had Sarah around. She looked out for people, and for some reason in these past few years she had looked after him more than most. Always checking on him, always having his back. Leon would never admit it, but over the years since he had met her he had developed feelings for her. That why he liked having her around. It was usually the only time he could spend with her. He knew she would never even take a chance at a relationship with anyone, let alone him. The only thing she loved was her job. Even if she would take a chance at a relationship it would be with someone who made her feel like she didn't need to worry about them being caught in the crossfire. Distant from her. Not a Brother in Arms.

Kodiak came back with a whole stash of chems and medical supplies.

"I guess my days as a soldier are done." Leon said.

"No, we just need to get you out and about. Oh and a few days of training, straight." Sarah said, part jokingly, part serious. They passed Leon a bottle of buffout. He swallowed four of the pills and he jumped up on his feet.

"If I had to recommend how to keep yourself moving till your back in shape, it would be to keep a few bottles of that on hand. Kodiak said.

"Noted." Leon said. "Wadsworth. I need a haircut."

"As soon as thats done meet us outside were going for some food."

"Moriarty's?" Leon asked.

"Yeah." Sarah said.

"Great, just give me a second."

The Pride walked out and Dusk exploded.

"THATS IT?" She yelled. "HE NEARLY DIES AND MINUTES LATER IT'S LETS GET LUNCH! WHATS WRONG WITH YOU?"

"Putting pressure on tough things with him is a bad idea. Better to move on than let it all fall apart." Sarah replied. Dusk didn't reply, just stood there silent. Leon walked out minutes later, wearing his Armored Vault 101 Jumpsuit.

"Alright. I'm hungry. Lets eat." Leon said. Sarah nodded.

* * *

Moriarty's saloon was packed. For the past year, travelers had been making their way across the country. All of them were coming from the west. Gob was at the counter, serving a crowd who was gathered around two people.

Gob turned and looked at them. "Leon! You're just in time." Leon walked up to the counter.

"In time for what?" He asked.

"These two over here have been telling stories from the west."

"More?" Leon asked.

Before Gob could answer, Sarah cut in. "What stories?" She asked.

"You haven't heard about them?" Gob asked.

"No." Sarah replied. "Not many travelers come to the citadel."

"Their just stories about some guy out west..."

"The Courier isn't just some guy. He is a hero..." The male traveler started

"And a myth." Leon finished.

"Trust me friend." The female traveler. "I fought at Hoover Dam for the NCR. I watched an army we all thought was unstoppable, running scared at the sight of him. He rallied all the tribes in the Mojave wasteland to his cause of independence, not to mention the forces he mustered from the surrounding wastes." She continued. Leon was dismissing it as tall tales but her story had peaked Sarah's intrest.

"Hoover Dam?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, its this big hydroelectric dam out west. In the Mojave Desert. "The NCR and Caesar's Legion had speant four years waiting for another battle for it. The single most powerful source of clean water and electricity, and we let it slip through our fingers. All because of the Courier."

Sarah was fascinated while Leon was eating a steak, dismissing it all as travelers tall tales. _Even I've never been through half of what these stories tell. Even with Mothership Zeta, I havn't dealt with some of the things this guy's supposedly done. Settling a war in some canyon, recovering treasure from a casino filled with the walking dead, taking over a pre war top secret science facility. Oh, but the kicker, the story of the Courier carving his way through the Divide, a practical Hell on Earth that made Point Lookout seem like a five star_ _resort_._ It just feels like it's all too far fetched. _Leon thought.

He didn't have time to ponder it anymore before Lucas Simms nearly broke down the door.

"Leon! Some girl just wandered into town saying she had to talk to you." Simms said.

"Some girl?" Leon asked.

"Yeah. She didn't say why, she collapsed to the ground before she could. She looked like she had some really bad times. We took her to Doc Church." Leon got up out of his chair, and ran out the door. Lyons Pride tailed close behind.

* * *

When Leon reached Doc Church, the Doctor wasn't very optimistic. "She has burn marks made on 75% of her body created by some unknown energy weapons. Their are at least 14 cuts and lacerations on her lower torso, created by something I would compare to your shock batons. Several shattered ribs, a broken leg, and a dent in her shoulder." Doc Church said.

"Who is she?" He asked, not seeing the patient.

"I was hoping you could tell me. She came here wearing a tattered and ripped apart Vault 101 jumpsuit." Doc Church replied. Sarah walked in behind Leon.

"What...?" Leon tried to ask.

"You can see her now. She's lying on the cot but she is awake." Doc Church said.

He turned the corner and had his fears confirmed.

_Why? Why? God, why did it have to be you? _Leon screamed in his head.

There on the cot lay a beaten and broken Amata.

He walked over to her.

She looked up and saw him.

"Leon..." She weakly managed to get out.

"Amata". He said.

"Leon, they...They took over the Vault...captured...everyone...so many are dead...my fault." She weakly said.

"Who?" Leon asked.

She passed out from the pain and Leon was left hanging. Sarah walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. He simply looked up and walked out.

* * *

In the cold, shattered halls of Vault 101, familiar soldiers marched around the halls rounding up stragglers and survivors. From the Overseer's Office, the commanding officer looked down at the spectacle. His second in command walked up next to him.

"Should we proceed?" He asked.

"Yes, I believe it is time. Time to turn the Lone Wanderer's life into a living hell..."


	2. Lyons Folly

Thanks for reading the first chapter of the second part in the Supremacy One story. Here goes the second chapter. An assault to retake Vault 101 is attempted and the already rocky freindship between Amata and Leon is gaining friction.

(Alright, this is my first time doing this review feedback so...Here goes!)

CyberJordon: Yep. Kicking the Hornets nest was one of the themes I had in mind when I was thinking this through.

XUnDeadKittenx: Glad you like it.

* * *

Chapter 2

Lyon's Folly

Megaton 6:18 8/20/86

After Amata's cyptic message, the Brotherhood mustered as many forces as they could to back an assault on the Vault. Soldiers gathered around Megaton, while Three Dog broadcast a rallying cry for forces to help retake the Vault. Sarah Lyons looked over two platoons of power armored brotherhood forces. There was one notable exception from the forces preparing to attack the Vault.

"Where the hell is Leon?" Gallows asked, angrily.

"Take it easy, Gallows." Sarah Lyons said.

"No, we have an army, lets use it."

"We can't attack until we know whats going on, for that we need Amata and Leon. The Doc said Amata will be ready to speak soon enough. As for Leon..."

"He's getting an old freind."

* * *

Rivet City, Muddy Rudder

"Another...one..." A drunken Butch Deloria said. Their was no response. "Well...I...guess...I'll get it...Myself..." He got up and walked behind the counter not noticing that no one, not even security, was around.

"I would have thought you would have done something better with your life, Butch." Leon's voice made Butch instantly sober in anger.

"I was doing something with my life until you pulled me into that Cross mess! Which if i remember correctly... YOU STARTED!" Butch yelled.

"Come on, Deloria, there was no way i could have known how that was going to go down."

Butch came more into the light revealing the full extent of the damage done in The Cross Incident. His left arm was missing with massive scarring across his face, his right eye was gouged out and his jacket was tattered and burned, the snake on the back faded in thanks to the burns.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"I need help." Leon replied.

"Why would I ever help you again?"

"Because the Vault's been taken over and everyone in its been captured." Leon declared.

This caught Butch's attention. "How bad is it?"

"Judging by the status Amata showed up in, worse than the initial opening of the vault. Much much worse." Leon's teared gaze was proof enough for Butch.

"I'll help squirt, but I'm doing this for the Vault not for you."

"You're not the only one."

Butch dropped a handful of caps on the counter, and left with Leon.

* * *

Megaton, Doc Church's 12:06

With Leon and Butch, they were almost ready to march. Before they could, however, their was one more thing to attend to.

"Can she talk?" Leon asked.

"Yes." Doc Church said. "But due to her trauma and risk of mental instability, I believe it to be best if you spoke to her alone. I think she would also prefer speaking to you rather than a Brotherhood Interrogator. You are her oldest friend, aren't you?" Doc Church asked.

Leon's eyes became icy. "I was." Leon said, cold and simple.

He turned the corner and looked down at the cot. Amata was lying down, her back turned to him. He hadn't got a good look at the extent of the injuries when he had seen her two days ago, now the wounds were clear. They had taken off her tattered Vault suit and dressed her in a wasteland settler outfit. She had been bleeding like a stuck pig when she had arrived with burns overlapping most of the cuts, even her neck was heavily bandaged and burned. There was a massive laceration on her back that was visible thanks to the blood stains on her back. He couldn't see her face.

He grabbed a chair and began to move it, suddenly she jumped up and looked at him.

"Leon?" She asked.

"Yes, its me." He said.

Her face was relatively intact other than some small cuts and burns on her forehead.

"It's good to see you." She said.

"I can't say the same." Leon replied.

Amata didn't know how to reply. She wasn't expecting a warm welcome but she wasn't expecting to be treated like a stranger. For several minutes there was silence, before Leon finally broke it.

"What happened at the Vault?" Leon asked.

"Right... Sorry." Amata said.

"That's fine but we can't help unless we know what were walking into." Leon declared.

"You don't sound like the kid who left the Vault nine years ago." Amata said.

"I'm not. What happened?" Leon continued to ask.

"Look, I'm sorry I made you leave the vault again. But so many people blamed you for all the deaths I couldn't let you stay..."

"Amata! I don't care!" Leon yelled, startling Amata. "It's been nine years. I don't care about you anymore. I'm doing this to make sure the place my dad and I called home doesn't fall to pieces because of me. When this is over I'm leaving you and your little underground city to its fate." With that, Leon finally felt like he had closure over the Vault, but now he felt like he had hurt someone and he knew he had.

Amata was on the verge of tears. She knew Leon might not care to speak to her, but she never expected this. She had heard the stories of him being the True Mortal: Calm and warm to some and cold and ruthless to others. She never expected to be on the recievng end of the latter. She was about to tear up, when she realized something.

"What do you mean: because of you?" Amata asked, choking up.

"What day did the attack begin?" Leon replied.

"August 17th at night." Amata said, wiping her tears from her face.

"I left the Vault that day, nine years ago." Leon said.

Amata started to understand.

"This is why I need to know what happened." Leon said. He walked over and sat next to her. "I'm sorry I screamed at you, but I need to know what happened." He said.

Amata understood why he was concerned at all: it could have been his fault.

"Alright, here is what happened."

* * *

Vault 101, Overseer's Office

10 minutes before the Attack.

"I said no." Amata declared.

"You can't be serious." Christine Kendall replied.

A lot had changed since Leon's last appearence in the Vault. Freddie Gomez was now Security Cheif. Amata's father was now just another citizen in the vault. Allen Mack committed suicide not long after Leon's departure declaring no true Vault citizen would follow Amata. He was remembered as a fool rather than a martyr. Several wastlanders had been allowed in which gave them resources, specialists, and security. Among them Somah, Leon's freind from Mothership Zeta. As a result, Susie Mack now controlled a small paramilitary force, armed with the spoils from the Mothership. Christine Kendall became an advisor to Amata. Last but not least, Wally Mack was shunned by the Vault for an attempted coup d'état. Forgiven only by Amata, he was the Vault's enemy within. As for the Vault itself it had claimed a patch of land outside the entrance, declaring it the Vault Threshold. It was still working hard to hold its political postion in the wasteland. Now, however, that was jeprodized.

"I'm not recalling our people on the surface." Amata said.

"After that whole mess on the surface a few months ago with Leon. I understand why your father kept the door shut." Christine replied.

"Don't pull either of them into this. They were both on extreme opposite sides of this issue." Amata said.

"Six of our people were killed in that mess, and you still think its alright for people to be out there. Even some of the wastelanders who came here say we shouldn't be out there." Christine said, almost sneering.

"If we close up again we won't survive another generation. If you think otherwise go talk to Wally." Amata declared.

Kendall said nothing, she simply left the room. Through the hall she passed Freddie Gomez who simply kept walking towards the office. He turned the corner to see Amata look down through the glass window she saw two young kids running around the central corridor.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting." Freddie said. Amata turned and looked at him.

"You're not." Amata said, slightly bitter.

"Bad day?" He asked.

"Christine's been trying to campaign for a full withdrawl from the wasteland." Amata stated.

"She is your advisor, and you completley ignore everything she says. You may want to rethink your political strategy." Freddie said.

"Are you agreeing with her?" She asked.

"No, I'm just doing my job." Freddie said.

"Good, everything working out in security?" Amata asked.

"Just doing my rounds." He said, confidently.

"Good have..." They heard a screeching noise.

"What was that?" Amata asked.

Wally pulled out his radio, and spoke through the communicator. "Park! Whats going on?" He asked.

"No idea sir. The springvale patrols radio just died, the guards at the doors are still reporting in... Wait... Their signal just died too. I dont know whats going..." Suddenly gunfire rained through the halls. A team of soldiers lead by Christine ran through the halls to the overseers office.

"Ma'am! We have unkown intruders entering the Vault!" She yelled. "We need to..." Christine suddenly turned to ash on the ground as a beam of energy slashed her in the stomach. The other fighters were quickly dispatched by similar means. Freddie ran and sealed the door.

"There that should keep them out." Freddie said, smiling. Before Amata could reply, they heard the sound of sparking. The soldiers were cutting through the door.

"Crap." Freddie said. "Amata threw him a key and he unlocked the locker in the room. He pulled out an assault rifle and loaded it. "Lets see them beat us now." Freddie said, overcofidently. Amata stood silent, unable out speak out of horror. The door broke open and troops entered the room. They were wearing armor similar to the Enclave Tesla armor, but this was sleeker, more like advanced power armor mark II it only had the tesla pack on the back, rather than the full suit. The eye slots were bright white, and the armor was a clean, freshly polished, slick black. Their weapons were designed like a plasma rifle with a Mag. Accelerator, except the firing point was red instead of green. It would be all too familiar to the Courier: it was Supremacy One's advanced power armor mark III, and the weapons were neutron rifles.

"Eat this!" Freddie yelled. The assault rifle barraged the soldiers with bullets and they bounced off sheilds put in place by their armor. The soldiers fired and incapacitated Freddie, leaving Amata alone.

"There's the target. Take her and as many of the vault dwellers as possible, alive."

Amata turned and hit a button on the terminal, the emergency exit began to open. The soldier opened fire inflicting massive damage, her suit was ripped open she was left unbalanced and wounded. One of the soldiers picked a small ring from his armor, and threw it straight at Amata. It was electrified and slashed her back open, perforating and lacerating her back. The ring flew back to the soldier. Amata fell down the stairs, she managed to pull the switch below and seal the entrance, closing the emergency exit. She struggled to get back up on her feet, and began stumbling towards the exit.

Amata reached the other side of the emergency entrance, she looked up and through the small gap. Their were eight soldiers standing in the entrance hall they had the door guards and several members of the springvale patrol including Susie Mack and Somah. The soldiers frosty gaze looked down at Somah.

"Where is the location of the beacon?" The soldier asked, aiming a neutron rifle at her head. Somah looked up and stared into the helmet's lifeless face. The soldier got down to her level. "I'll ask again, where is the beacon?"

Somah smiled. "Go to Hell." She said, and spit on the soldiers armor.

The soldier grunted and got up. "Take them to the atrium! Once he arrives, they will become dispensable." Amata took the chance to run. The soldiers noticed and opened fire attempting to subdue her with a barrage of energy. She was near dead by the time she passed over the threshold into the wasteland.

* * *

"I slipped in and out for several hours than made my way here." Amata said.

"And that's the whole story?" Leon asked.

"Yes." Amata said.

"Okay, thats all I needed to here. Leon said.

Amata looked at him as he got up and walked away.

"Leon..." Amata said. He turned and looked at her.

"These people... They are not like what you've faced before. They're well organized, they're viciously ruthless, and they're beyond powerful. Be very careful." She said.

Leon nodded and walked out.

* * *

Megaton Armory

"It's not sealed." The scout said.

"You have got to be kidding me." Sarah Lyons said, her eyes widened with surprise.

"I'm entirely serious, the vault door has been opened and the amount of guards at the Vault Threshold is rather low, maybe two at the most."

"Okay, its a trap." Sarah declared.

"Oh, almost certainly." The scout replied. "From what we saw they are using weapons and power armor, unlike what we've seen before."

"Are they Enclave?" She asked.

"They don't appear to be."

"They're not." Leon said as he walked into the armory

"What did you find out, Senior-Knight?" Sarah asked.

"I talked to Amata, and these people are an enigma. She doesn't know of a provocation, and they were undetected by the Outcasts or Brotherhood, despite all their advanced technology."

"Well that does us absolutely no good." Gallows cut in.

"Aren't you usually mute?" Leon asked, sarcastically

That got a slight laugh out of Dusk.

"What's the plan?" Sarah asked.

"You're asking me?" Leon replied.

"Well I'm not sure what to do, and you know that Vault better than anyone else here. Plus you always seem to think of somehing clever." Sarah asked.

"Oh right..." Leon said, jokingly. "Well our first priority is contact. Maybe they can be negotiated with." Leon declared.

"You honestly believe that?" Dusk asked.

"No. But it might give us time to catch them off guard." Leon said.

"Where do you want Butch?" Lyons asked.

"I can't believe im saying this but i want Butch guarding Amata."

"Okay. That it?" Sarah asked.

"One more thing: Lets move out."

* * *

Springvale 12:46

The platoons made their approach to the vault threshold. As they made their way through the ruins of springvale, the tension and fear was rising. None of them knew what they were walking into. It could be abandoned it could be filled with guards. Colvin was on a nearby hill looking down on the Threshold and springvale. Dusk was watching the operation from Megaton, relaying all communications to the citadel.

Leon was wearing his T-51b Power Armor and weilding a Gauss rifle and Tesla Cannon, while the rest of the task force was armed with T-45d Power Armor and laser weapons.

As the main team, led by Sarah Lyons and Leon Stinger, continued the approach, Sarah was becoming uneasy.

"Colvin. Update." She said into her helmet radio.

Colvin looked down the scope and saw no movement. "Nothing, Ma'am. Dead as a doornail."

Sarah looked around the ruins as they approached the ascent into the threshold. "Why haven't we encountered these people? The scouts reported several guards." Sarah asked.

"No idea. Maybe they got what they were looking for and fled?" Leon suggested.

"No, we would have been contacted." Sarah declared.

"Unless they killed everyone inside." Leon stated.

Kodiak and Gallows entered the conversation. "You said they may have found what they were looking for. What ARE they looking for?" Kodiak asked.

"Perhaps a weapon. That would be the military advantage." Gallows stated.

Leon didn't reply, simply looked up at the threshold.

Colvin continued to look down his scope. Suddenly, he saw three fast black images fly through his sights. He quickly grabbed his radio. "May Day! May Day! Three contacts at the top of the hill!"

The task force failed to even reach the Threshold, all forces aimed weapons at the hill, as the three Supremacy One soldiers aimed weapons right back.

"This is the Brotherhood of Steel! Stand down!" Sarah yelled.

"We are Supremacy One, and you are insignificant." One of the soldiers replied, in a metallic computerized voice.

"You're outnumbered and outgunned!" Sarah contiued to yell.

"I beg to differ." Another voice said. It wasn't one of the soldiers, rather the voice was female and farther off. Leon looked up and saw a female figure approach. "I am the Advisor, now surrender the Lone Wanderer or face annihilation." The Advisor threatened, malicously.

"Surrender Leon? You have to be kidding." Sarah said.

Rather than reply, the Advisor gave an answer. "So be it. Open fire, kill them all." Suddenly, two vertibirds decloaked above the mountain the vault was incased in. They were different than other vertibirds, being held in the air by thrusters as well the rotors. They had a shiny grey titanium alloy surface, with a saturnite enforced frame. It was also bigger at least two feet wider and longer, with two tail rotors instead of one. Two plates opened on the front of each vertibird, each containing nine mini nukes. The mini nukes were launched and hell began to rain down. The already horrible situation got worse as the mini nukes were the Gun Runners Tiny Tots. Thirty two mini nukes became several hundred.

"Scatter!" Sarah yelled. The troops ran in every direction but not quick enough. Within seconds thirty-seven of fifty-five fully armored Brotherhood forces were obliterated. Leon and Sarah were thrown around the town along with the rest of the survivors. Leon scrambled to his feet. He looked up at the Vertibirds, who were activating nuetron gatling lasers on the bottom of the vertibirds. He took out his Tesla Cannon and fired into the rotors on the second Vertibird. It blew up in flames. The Vertibird fell into the hill crashing while the first broke off before Leon could fire again.

"Kodiak! Casualties!" He yelled.

"Thirty-seven! Gallows among them." Kodiak replied.

"Colvin! What can you see? Where's Sarah?" He screamed into his helmet radio.

"Nothing on our freindly killers. As for Sentinal Lyons..." He turned his scope and saw armor sticking out near a house. "...She's down, but her vitals our still live. Colvin declared."

"Where?" He asked.

"House to your left, where that cult was." Colvin said.

He ran over to the house to find Sarah. He looked beneath some of the dirt that had been kicked up by the bombardment, and found her barely conscious.

"Sentinel Lyons, are you okay?" He asked, soft and concerned.

"Yes...I think...so." She said,weakly. She was trying to regain balance and stamina as he pulled her up from the ground. She put her arm on his shoulder. "Can you get us to the others?" Sarah asked.

Before Leon could reply, Colvin called in. "Heads up, you have incoming contacts. Freindly forces have regrouped at the gas station ruins." Colvin declared

"Lets go." Leon said, excitedly. He ran through the ruins and smoke with Sarah close behind. The dust clouds were providing good cover, as Supremacy One's nuetron rifles didn't have thermal scopes, they ducked towards the gas station and slid behind a downed car. He looked over the car ruins and fire off his tesla cannon to help clear the dust clouds. Kodiak scrambled over to their position.

"They're closing in but as long as we ensure they only have on way in we..." Suddenly the dust swirled as though their was movement, yet they saw nothing.

"What was that?" Kodiak asked. Their was more movement this time behind them.

"Colvin. Can you see whats going on?" Leon asked on his radio.

"Yes, the dust and smoke is rapidly shifting, but i cant... Wait, i can hear something..." Colvins voice cut out, and they heard a familiar noise: the sound of decloaking. There was silence then one noise: Colvin's screams of pain and terror.

He realized it then, they were being corralled by stealth troopers.

In a last ditch effort to ensure the survival of his friends, he activated his pip boy speaker and radio with one message...

"This is Leon Stinger, we surrender."


	3. They Call Themselves The Faction

Hello. Now to the story. Supremacy One has captured our freinds in the Capital Wasteland, and revelations are coming to light about the nature of Supremacy One's manipulative ways and an agent in the Capital reveals herself. Thats the least of their problems, because now, a new enemy enters the war.

* * *

Chapter 3

They Call Themselves The Faction

Vault 101 8/20/2086 8:00 P.M

Supremacy One wasn't any less brutal to the Lone Wanderer then the Courier. They placed Leon inside an almost medieval chain set over Elijah's Dead Money Jumpsuits. Each of the gauntlets and boots completely solid made of the same alloy as the Vertibirds, with chains attaching both arms and legs. The gauntlets were at least 10-inchs solid and round on the end, as to prevent them from grabbing anything, the boots were the same except flat on the bottom. There was a neck collar at least 2-inchs thick and 2 inchs tall, all attached by chains. The collar, gauntlets, and boots all had bombs in them, and Leon felt it.

Sarah and the survivors were rounded in the atrium which was converted into a courtroom. There they were stripped of there Power Armor and weapons, given clean, black, merc grunt outfits, and sat in rows of benchs. Why Supremacy One was treating them like citizens and Leon like a man on death row, no one knew.

_Maybe he is on death row. _Sarah thought.

They were heavily guardedand she knew if they tried to fight them they would be dead in moments. She decided to wait it out, knowing the Brotherhood would send reinforcements.

"Are you from the Brotherhood?" An older man asked, sitting beside her.

"Yes." She replied.

"Oh thank god. I am Alphonse Almodovar. Did... Did my daughter make it to you?" He asked, tearing up.

"I've heard of you. Leon mentions you in some of his stories from the vault. Amata made it. She's alive... But I can't say well." Sarah replied, hesitant to reveal the full extent of damage done.

"Oh God... I knew since that mess with your Outcast's a few months ago... We should have hid, we should have stayed hidden!"

"It's that motherless Leon's fault." Wally Mack scoffed behind them. "If he never put Amata in control, they never would have found us." His whining was aggravating Sarah.

"Shut up! Before they get angry." Sarah silently yelled. A Supremacy One soldier turned and looked at them.

"They wont do anything they need us they said so themselves." Wally smart mouthed. "They..." He was shut up by the sound of the soldier reloading his Nuetron Rifle.

"I would be quiet. Because now that the Lone Wanderer is in our possesion, you and the entire population of this Vault are completely dispensable." He said, seemingly joyed at Wally's terror. The soldier left the row, Wally went silent. Sarah sat there startled at the revelation.

_Leon, if your going to do something, do it fast._

* * *

Leon lay in the Vault jail cell. It had been renovated, so to speak. It no longer had any furniture or lighting, just the cold and dark creeping in on all sides. He lay there, uncomfortably asleep. His body was in agony. The sheer shockwave during the bombings had felt like it dislocated all his vertebrae and bones. He had been torn from the people he cared for and loved. Being back in the Vault brought back the nightmares of his childhood and forged new nightmares as he endured the agony. He dreamt he was back at Project Purity, still a child, and looked up at his father, standing just beyond the doorway into the control chamber. He stared back, smiling.

"Don't be afraid, son. I will always be here for you." James said.

Suddenly, the doorway locked down and James stood back. This was a moment locked into his memory forever. The vivid moment where Colonel Autumn would trigger the death of his father. Thats not how this nightmare played out, though. Rather than Autumn, The Advisor appeared and executed James with a Microwave Emitter. Eight of Supremacy One's soldiers appeared and fired simultaneously into the purifier. It violently exploded and flaming glass and metal rained down on him. As he watched his parents life work come crashing down, the Advisor grabbed him, pulling him into the air by the neck, and pulling a sliver of glass, shaped like a spade, from the floor.

"You are too weak to make hard choices and too weak to save anyone you care about." She said as she took the sliver and slit Leon's throat.

He woke up, screaming. He looked around and saw the door open, two soldiers ran in and hit him with shock batons and blinded him with the light that reached through the doorway, almost digging into his eyes. He was slipping in and out of consciousness. One moment he was in the cell next he was on some type of podium overlooking all the vault dwellers. He was unsure of what was about to happen, but he knew one thing: This wasn't going to end well.

* * *

Leon struggled to move, not like he was able to move to start. His eyesight made it's way back, and he looked around the atrium. He saw his freinds and people he called family once looking onto him. They were surrounded by Supremacy One.

"What do you want?" Leon managed to get out.

"What do we want?" Well... You. For a start." A familiar voice said.

Leon's eyes opened wide. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. _No, she wouldn't betray his legacy... Especially to these people. _Leon thought. He couldn't let this just pass he looked straight ahead at the entrance, and asked.

"Dr. Li?"

"Director Li." She corrected.

Leon looked on in horror. Dr. Li walked forward from the entrance, wearing a pitch black suit and blood red vest beneath. She had a sort of spite and malice to her. Sarah looked out from the court. She couldn't even speak, it was too much. The Doctor who worked so hard to ensure Project Purity's activation, was now razing Vault 101 to its very foundations.

"Why...?" Leon asked.

"Why what? Why am I here? The Advisor has her own operations so she left me in command again. As for why I am with Supremacy One..."

"Who's to say I wasn't with them nine years ago?" Dr. Li had a sinister expression on her face.

"But you... You helped us. You helped us activate the Purifier." Leon stated, tears and sadness filling his expression.

"And why do you believe I assisted you? A child's dream of seeing a lush and thriving wasteland? Some naive sense of loyalty to James?" Dr. Li continued. "You never truly understood why I helped you. I helped you to further my own goals. To further our own plans. When you and Lyon's pathetic Brotherhood of Steel activated the purifier I told you that the device would overload with radiation. I lied. The device would activate fine, but we needed you out of the way. I remotely flooded the room with radiation, in an attempt to kill you."

Dr. Li smiled with vice, and Leon was in an emotional pit. "But instead you were rendered comatose for two weeks, enough time for me to flee. While en-route to the commonwealth to report to my superior, I heard of Adams Air Force base. I must thank you. The destruction of the Enclave removed the last major obstacle in our way. At least until recently."

"You mean..." Leon said, his dark brown eyes opened wide, no longer filled with sadness but angry.

"Yes. By killing the Enclave, YOU allowed our approach. Now you will face trial." Dr. Li had a malicious smile.

"For what?" Leon asked.

"For continuing to survive." Dr. Li said. She left the room, and Leon was left to be tried and executed in front of old freinds and family.

* * *

Vault 101 Threshold. 9:30 P.M

Two guards awaited at the entrance. Dr. Li walked out and the Vertibird decloaked. On board, the Advisor was sitting in one of the chairs.

"Has it been done?" She asked.

"Yes, Madame."

"Good. Orion awaits your report."

Li boarded the craft, and it took off, leaving the guards. the moonlight beamed down on their helmets. They stood looking out into the pitch black night. Looking around, they heard a mechanical noise. It sounded like hydraulics. They aimed their rifles around, noticing small luminous dots approaching. There were at least twenty dots and they were getting bigger by the second.

"Halt!" One of the guards yelled. They got closer and the moonlight reflected what the dots were attached to.

"No, not them! Shoot them! Kill them all!" They fired at least eighty times in under a minute and did no damage. The unkown enemies opened fire back with lightning like beams of energy. The impact on Supremacy One's armor turned the soldiers into electric conduits. They were eviscerated and fried from the inside of their armor. The unknown enemies stepped over the corpses, crushing them into bloody pulp with their hydraulic power armor. At least fifty of these killers entered the Vault, making no attempt to prevent Supremacy One from being alerted.

* * *

"340 counts of obstruction, 118 counts of conspiracy, 39 counts of intervention." The judge said. "You are found guilty of all stated, what..." The judge was cut off by the sound of gunfire in the halls.

"Open fire!" The soldiers yelled. The opposing forces were silent, encased in turtle-like hydraulic power armor. It was thick, bulky, with urban camoflauge. The armors body resembleled a turtle, heavy 11-inch wide, 3-Inch thick armor surrounding every limb, a shell-like design on the back, with an antenna rising out of it. Lights ran through the hydrauics in the power armors lit up joints. The helmet was 8-inches wide and 3-inches thick, with one holographic eye, shaped like a snakes head. The most prominent feature, however, was the fact that their armor had a nullification field that was preventing the nuetron rifles from doing any damage. They fired back with weapons no one had seen before. It's barrel had three plasma globes attached on the butt of the weapon attached by powered steel rods in a triangle formation and the firing point was a three fingered claw. In the middle was a triiger and they were firing beams and spheres of lightning. With the enemy breaching further, Supremacy One, for the first time in history, felt truly defeated. Falling back to more defendable positions, Supremacy One could no longer guard the atrium.

The door burst off the entrance to the atrium and three of the unkown force broke in to the room.

"Fire!" The soldiers yelled. Before they could an electricity sphere hit the first soldier head on. It burst, killing the squad. Arming a shoulder mounted cannon, their leader stared into the judges very soul. He fired the device: which discharged a massive pulse, disabling all powered devices in the room in a sparking display of light. They still had light but that was it. It opened the chains and bombs on Leon who took the moment to stand up and grab a loaded .32 revolver. He shot the judge in the back, and aimed the pistol at the intruders. The remaining Supremacy One forces stood down. The enemy commander walked over to the cheif of their stealth troopers, the phantasms, and stared into his eyes.

"Your utopia is false..." The commander said, in a deep voice filled with malice. He looked up at Leon. "...and your society is ravaged and flawed. We will liberate you and your people from your meaningless lives." He stated, coldy looking up into Leon's eyes then executed Supremacy One's soldiers. "I will allow you and your people to leave this place alive, once. Know this, however, what we are about to do will be a message to the wastes. Echoes will follow and we will leave our mark on the world. For we are the future. We are The Faction."

Leon motioned Sarah Lyons to evacuate the Vault and everyone started running. The commander placed a small lantern shaped device on the ground, while Leon ran out but not towards the entrance, towards the clinic.

Sarah and the vault dwellers were running onto the surface and were being directed towards megaton. With them running there she and Kodiak waited at springvale for Leon.

He reached the clinic and searched the desks for his fathers notes and holotapes. Grabbing all there was, he took one last thing from the secret safe: a file folder of photos he had previously left behind. He took off for the entrance.

Minutes later, he was outside and on the surface. Running down the hill towards springvale he screamed at Sarah. "RUN!" They all took off for Megaton and seconds before they reached the city they turned back and saw fire bursting from the mountains, a shock wave knocked them to the ground as the mountain holding the Vault collapsed in a massive explosion of fire and smoke. Springvale vanished, falling into the crater that was once the Vault. At least a hundred feet of land gone in a flash. With that action the entire childhood of the Lone Wanderer was obliterated.

Supremacy One and The Faction left a scar on the wasteland that would never heal.

* * *

Mwahahahaha! Enter The Faction. You're going to see more of them as this story goes on. Next chapter focuses on our old freind, John Hollister, and the actions he takes against Supremacy One. It also will be the first true appearence of The Revolutionist Federation.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter. (The title is a tribute to the game Colony Wars) See you next time!


	4. Preparing For War

Hello. Right off the Bat... Thanks for all the positive feedback for Chapter 3! Wow, I didn't think that that The Faction would attract the attention it did. Thanks so much. This chapter might be a bit slower.

And now some replys to reviews:

CyberJordan: Well, Let's just say don't count your chickens before they hatch. Supremacy One might surprise you soon enough...

ejthepinoy: Glad you're enjoying it.

Spartan Josh-D158: I never thought i would hear that. My story kept you on the edge of your seat? Wow. Thanks!

Oddliver: I will. Thanks.

Now as usual... Read and Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 4

Preparing for War

New Reno 8/21/86 1:00 A.M

Fire lit up the night sky, as shells rained down on the city. The Revolutionist Federations elite corps, the self declared Reavers, were raining heavy weapons down on the city. Uranium enriched artillery bombarded the east half of the city, while the Confederacy fired back with tactical air strikes from Vertibirds armed with incendiary missles and .50 cal turrets. Mr. Bishop and the entire population of the city had been evacuated to Vault City, which was being tranformed into an impenetrable fortress. Cyber-Hounds and Robo-Scorpions from Big MT were helping control the fighting. Even so it was a losing battle. The Revolusionist Federation didn't become demoralized, they were forged from the worst of humanity. They were firing massive amounts of Sarin nerve gas into the open streets, turning the city streets into lethal traps. New Vegas could offer little support to the fallen city, it was too far in and was a smoking ruin. Despite all that, somewhere in the ruin was John Cassidy, holding the line against these sinister foes. Armed with the Bozar, a gift from his daughter Cass, he was standing in a ruin shooting down soldiers as they attempted to breach a Confederacy encampment.

The troops were about to pass by him he fired at least eighty rounds and kicked them down into the ground, executing them with a knife. Several of New Vegas's Sand Marines approached, throwing MFC cluster bombs to stop the incoming forces.

"Sir, are you all right?" A soldier asked.

"No..." This thing isn't as powerful as I remember. John Cassidy stated, referring to the Bozar.

"I'm sorry, sir." The marine replied. "We came looking for you, there is a coded transmission coming from Big MT. John Hollister is requestng you speak with him."

"Why?"

"He wouldn't say, he simply said to tell you, Arrowhead." The marine said. Cassidys head jolted at the marine. Arrowhead was the code for Supremacy One contact. He ran off for the command center. The marines evacuated the camp and fell back as the Revolutionist Federation broke through the lines.

* * *

"I hope this isn't a drill." Cassidy said, looking into the video monitor in the F.O.B.

"I wish it was." John replied.

"Sorry I can't leave to help. We can't abandon New Reno..."

"That's actually why I'm calling on you. I need you to surrender the city."

"WHAT?" Cassidy asked, angrily.

"Its in ruins and we can't afford to maintain it. Pull your forces out off the front lines and regroup at Vault City. It is vital we hold off the Revolutionist Federation invasion until we deal with Supremacy One." John said his face filled with dread.

"We can't just abandon this city." Cassidy said. He felt the ground shake as a shell hit the building.

"We don't have a choice, its either fortify in Vault City or lose our foothold all together."

"But..." Cassidy knew he was fighting a losing battle with John

"I am ordering you, as Sovereign of the New Vegas Confederacy, to retreat from New Reno." John said, true fury in his eyes.

"Yes Sir." Cassidy said, defeated.

"Sorry, Cassidy. But we can't fight a three front war." John said, calm again.

"I know. He replied. He looked at the screen. "I'll make my way to Big MT and sound the retreat." He said, grim.

"Alright, Hollister out."

Cassidy cut the channel, and walked over to his command staff.

"Sound the retreat and head for Vault city."

"Sir?" One of the members asked.

"You heard me! Retreat!" He yelled.

The staff obliged and the army fell back.

Cassidy pulled out a TransportalPonder and headed for Big MT.

* * *

Big MT, The Sink 3:00 P.M

"Sir, will you be requiring refreshments?" The CIU asked.

"No." John replied. John, Cass, Veronica, Ulysses, John Cassidy, and Elder McNamara stood gathered around the Sink central table.

"We need to act and we need to act now." Ulysses said. "Even if Supremacy One is on the east coast now, they will be back to start war again. It's only a matter of time."

"True." John said. "How powerful is the Capital Wasteland Brotherhood?" John asked McNamara.

"I honestly..." McNamara started.

"I've managed to get one or two transmissions to them. Veronica said. From what I understand they're locked in civil war. Conflict rules the region. There is heavy raider activity, and a whole lot of mutants."

"Veronica! Communications were locked. How did you get anything through?" McNamara yelled.

"It was ten years ago. Veronica said. Before the slaughter at HELIOS ONE, before the Sierra Madre."

"You... We don't speek with traitors, when I..."

"You won't do anything if you want to stay in The Confederacy." John said. "You owe your survival to the safety of New Vegas. I could easily end that." McNamara was left in shock by John's Threat. John looked at Ulysses. "Is the Old World Guard ready?" John asked, a stern look on his face.

"Yes. There en route here now. You mind me asking what we are going to use against them? We don't have adequate equipment to deal with a full army of shock troopers." Ulysses said.

"Simple. CIU, bring up our counter-measures." John said.

"Of course, sir." The CIU said. Suddenly holograms appeared on the table.

"Saturnite Alloy Bullets for disruption and destruction of there Advanced Power Armor Mark III. Specially designed GRA Rifles, Pistols, Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, and Heavy Weapons for mass distribution and use." The CIU continued. "New steel plating for the Armored Vertibirds, as well as loaded White Phosphorus Balistic Rounds. Enough Firepower to easily defeat their Advanced Vertibirds Titanium plating. Last but not least my favorite addition, Chimera Heavy Tanks and Recon Craft, perfect to obliterate platoons of Supremacy One shock troopers. They automatically condense into crates when not in use making them easy to transport."

The holograms vanished and John smiled.

"That enough?" John asked, sarcastically. Ulysses nodded but John Cassidy's face went up in flames.

"You had all those resources, and you didn't throw a single cap at the war effort." Cassidy said, anger rushing to his face.

"Supremacy One was too great a threat. I knew they wouldn't stop until the wasteland was nothing but dust. I'm sorry but at the time the Revolutionist Federation was just a city. I didn't think..."

"I know you didn't think." Cassidy said.

"Dad..." Cass tried to start.

"There are so many men laying down there lives on the front lines, and you didn't spare a securitron, let alone any of this!" Cassidy yelled.

"Dad! Enough! There was no way to know how dangerous they were going to become. Don't blame each other." Cass said, calmingly. Cassidy knew that was true, but with good people being chopped up and sent home in boxes from the warzone, it was hard to take in.

"Sorry John." Cassidy said.

"Right back at you." John said. "Let's get ready to go." John said. Ulysses nodded.

They walked towards the elevator and entered the crater.

* * *

Walking out a few feet, Old World Guard Vertibirds began to decend. At first there were only a few, than there were ten, than twenty, and even more coninued to decend. He activated the Raven's platform and prepared to lift off as the Old World Guard was armed with their weapons and the tanks were loaded onto the Vertibirds. Cass cut him off before he could enter the craft. She grabbed him by the collar of his duster and kissed him.

"Letting go, she smiled. Well, looks like another adventure for you, and you leave me without any fun." Cass said, giggling. John simply smiled. "You, of course, take the lesbian scribe, the vengeful courier, and the floating robot, all in an alien spaceship. Well at least you'll have company." She continued. John looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you hiding?" John said.

"Am I really that bad?" She asked.

"No. You have a devil's tongue, but you are talking to the most perceptive person in the wasteland. What is it, Cass?"

She looked at him, uncomfortably. "I've never been particularly good at being... Direct in a relationship."

"Oh really?" John said, sarcastically.

"Listen, Smartass..." Cass started, but stopped herself. "This is really tough for me but I guess it can't wait. John Hollister, you're going to be a father."

Johns eye's widened, his heart was racing, and he almost cried. "Are you serious?" John said.

"I would never joke about this sort of thing." Cass said.

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, long and passionatly. "I can't believe it." He was crying.

"Now you get why you have to come home alive." Cass said. "I don't want to tell our child that their father was a martyr."

"I love you." John said, smiling with tears.

"I love you, too." Cass replied. "Good luck."

John nodded and boarded the Raven. It took off and with it a fleet of sixty vertibirds, packed to the brim.

Next stop: The Capital Wasteland!

* * *

Megaton 8/21/86 10:25 A.M

The previous night left the Brotherhood Of Steel and Vault 101 Dwellers traumatized. Amata went into shock at the news of the destruction. She couldn't believe it: Nine years of rebuilding after the opening of the Vault, all destroyed in a single act of terrorism. Now they had nowhere to go, so many died for nothing. She had been moved from the clinic to Leon's home with the Lyon's Pride and Butch. She was placed on the fold out couch in the house. She felt slightly more at home with the Vault Themed House. She looked at the framed quote on the nearby pedestal. she read the first verse

I am Alpha and Omega, The beginning and the end.

"You were the beginning and end of us, Leon." She mumbled, resentfully.

"What did you say?" Sarah's voice echoed. Amata turned to see the sentinel still in the black merc grunt outifit.

"Nothing. It's just..." Amata hesitated to speak. "Nothing." She restated.

"I'm sorry about the Vault." She said.

"Thanks." Amata replied, sitting up.

Sarah sat down on the couch. "Leon told me you and him had an icy reunion." Sarah said.

Amata looked at her with a half smile. "Yeah, I guess we did." Her eyes lit up a little. "Are you and him...you know...together?" Amata finished, gulping slightly. Sarah's face lit up.

"No! Me and Leon have a strictly professional... I mean I'm not with...Relationships are just... They just..." Sarah was feeling a little strange. "They just get in the way." She said, a little hesitantly. A fact that Amata noticed and smilied at.

"Sure. I get it." She said. Amata pulled off the topic seeing it made her uncomfortable. "I have one more question, nothing so personnel." Amata said.

"Shoot." Sarah said, eagerly.

"I want payback against these people." Amata said, unusually malicious. "Could you help train me?" She asked, fire in her eyes.

Sarah smiled at her obvious determination. "Normally, I would say no almost immediately. However, you seem like you have the determination and conviction. Wait until Leon gets back and we will leave for the citadel. The Vault Dwellers can make camp there and have somwhere to live until we find more permenant lodgings, and we can see about you getting training from Gunny." Sarah said.

"Great, Thanks." Amata said, then she noticed something. "Wait, where did Leon go?" Sarah said nothing, just pointed at the ceiling.

* * *

Mothership Zeta, Cryo Bay.

"All right. There you go. You're check up is complete." Elliot said.

"Everything check out okay?" Leon asked.

"Yes."

"Good, and what about the scan results I asked for?" Leon said as they walked back towards the bridge.

"We're still running them. We can check on the bridge." Elliot said.

They entered the teleporter and ended up on the bridge. "Can you explain exactly what we're dealing with? I don't like being blind." Elliot said.

"Neither do I." Leon replied, vaguely.

"I mean I get we don't understand much about them, but searching for mass concentration of Energized Neutron Particles... You're asking me to look for the impossible. Even with all the resources on the ship and the machines you've gotten from the Brotherhood of Steel, the chance of finding even a single Energized Neutron Particle is like jumping into a black hole looking for light. It can't be done." Just as he said that an alarm was raised.

"What was that you were saying?" Leon said. They ran over to the command terminal.

"Thats odd." Elliot said looking at the hologram.

"What?" Leon asked. "Is it what were looking for?"

"No, but there is a strange disturbance." Elliot said. "There's a huge stationary field of polarized ion particles. Its blocking all signals, scans, and communications."

"Where?" Leon asked.

"I'm checking." A map pulled up on the screen. It was quickly shifting and changing as different maps were shown. Finally, one appeared and matched the coordinates.

"The Commonwealth." Eliot said.

Leon smiled. "Found you." He whispered. "Keep scanning Eliot." He said and left the room, heading down to earth.

* * *

Citadel Entrance 8/22/86 9:00

They had scrambled from Megaton early that morning and began a long journey to the Citadel. Making it all that way was tough and ensuring the Vault Dwellers survival alone was even tougher, but they had made it.

"Okay, listen, we need to talk this over with Elder Lyons. Wait here while we head in." Sarah said. The Vault Dwellers complied. Leon looked around the entrance and realized something.

"Where are the guards?".Leon asked.

"I don't know." Sarah said, reloading an assault rifle. "Be ready." Amata walked up behind them.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

Leon opened the door. "I don't know..." He was shocked at what he saw when he looked through the door.

The Brotherhood Outcasts were occupying the Citadel Courtyard...

And they had Elder Lyons at gunpoint.


	5. Shooting to Kill

Hello. The Outcasts have arrived and now its time for some new devlopments.

Now some replies to reviews.

Oddliver: they have been equipped with them as of your review. I didn't know that and have now adjusted this so that they have the correct treads for future reference. Thank you.

ejthepinoy: Thank you. I didn't think i would hear the term genius ever assosciated with my stories.

DumpsterHobo01: Yes! My plan is succeeding! Soon you will die of cliffhangar anxiety! MWAHAHAHAHA! In all seriousness, though, thank you for the review.

* * *

Chapter 5

Shooting to Kill

Unknown 8/22/86

The Silhouette Board's conference room was, as usual, dark. Little to no light was reaching in to the room and the directors of Supremacy One sat at the long table in the center of the room. Orion, the mysterious shadowed leader of Supremacy One, was looking at the center of the table where a holographic projection of footage from the helmets of Supremacy One soldiers in the halls of Vault 101. The images flashed by: smoke and ruins filling the Vault, Supremacy One soldiers being cut down and cut up by the Faction's Electricity Weapons, the enemy commander executing the Phantasms, but the real kicker was watching the Lone Wanderer escape through the helmet of a dead soldier. As the footage rolled by, the tension was felt through out the room. The Directors were silent, staring into the images like statues. An unspoken dread lingered, they knew Orion was unforgiving to failure. The footage came to a close and Director Li stood.

"Orion, please have mercy, there was no way I could have known..." Director Li said. The reply was completely unexpected.

"You have no reason to apologize. It was not your fault, Director Li." Orion's mechanical malevolent voice replyed, unusually tame. "However I am deeply disturbed. The Faction has been always been a danger, but they have never openly attacked our forces." Orion stated. Li was slightly impaired at the moment, simply shocked that Orion didn't end her life. He never tolerated failure and never let the survivors of those failures live. Orion looked at the hologram of the enemy soldiers storming Vault 101. "It appears our old freind has made their move. Return to your installations and continue operations, under lockdown and heavy alert. Dismissed."

* * *

Citadel Courtyard

"This is not a game Lyons." Morgan declared, viciously. Defender Morgan had been promoted to Protecter and replaced the late Henry Casdin. "Give us what was stolen." The Outcasts had killed the guards and most of the recruits, while the remaining forces were locked in a stand off.

Morgan was wearing Tesla Armor and had her power armored gauntlet wrapped around Lyons neck, a Plasma Pistol aimed at his head. We stole nothing Morgan. "There is no need for this bloodshed." He said.

Leon and company hadn't been noticed. Leon took one look at Sarah and knew that sreek of luck was over.

"Sarah...!" He couldn't even finish his sentence, she ran forward and opened fire. Two Outcast guards went down and she slid to the ground. Another soldier turned to deal with her when she jumped up and bashed in his skull with a brutal kick grabbing his Laser Rifle. She hit the ground and ran forward, sweat pounding and heart racing. She landed several critical hits on Morgan. "Son of a... Stay here Amata." Leon said, agitated. He pushed forward with the Xuanlong Assault Rifle, dropping multiple Outcast's. Leon ran forward and shattered several helmets with a ripper. He ran to the aid of the Brotherhood but dropped his Xuanlong Assault Rifle on the courtyard ground when an Outcast fired a Laser Rifle. The beam struck his hand and forced him into cover.

Sarah knocked Morgan to the ground. They entered into a breif fistfight. Sarah punched off her helmet and revealed Morgan's african american face. Morgan struck back with a swift and merciless hit straight into Sarah's lower chest. The bone breaking impact of the power armored fist caused Sarah to crumple in pain. Morgan got up and grabbed her Plasma Rifle off her back.

"Any last words?" Morgan said. Leon was helpless and it looked to be the Sentinal's final moments. Suddenly bullets raced from behind and threw the protector to the ground, bleeding and wounded, her eyes wide open. Leon turned and saw the shooter: Amata. She was holding his Xuanlong assault rifle. She seemed slightly shook up but fine.

While Leon walked over to her, Sarah grabbed the Elder from the ground. The Outcast's stood down, broken by Morgan's defeat. The Brotherhood surrounded them and began taking all there gear, while Kodiak and Dusk grabbed Morgan.

Amata stood frozen. She looked into the eyes of Morgan as she passed by. She wasn't panicking, in fact she wasn't doing anything. Leon walked over and snapped his fingers. She shook her head and realized she had froze.

"Sorry." She said.

"Its okay." Leon said, looking on as they dragged away Morgan. "Nice shot."

Amata looked at him, still shook up. "Thanks, I guess." Amata looked at Sarah, then back at Leon, slightly anxious and pained. "That Outcast was going to kill Sarah. I thought..." Leon raised an eyebrow. "...I thought I could kill them first." She said, tearing up. Leon looked at her.

"This is how the world works out here. If you want to survive you have to learn to shoot and kill, fast. You can't take pity and you can't show weakness." Leon said, slightly agitated. Amata stared at him.

"But they're still people..." Amata tried to start, but shut up when Leon started to visibly become agitated. "All right."

As Amata began to come back to reality, Sarah walked over.

"Leon, the Elder wishes to speak with you" She stated. He got up and looked to where the Elder was.

"Got it." He said and ran off. Sarah propped herself against the scaffolding over the courtyard entrance.

"Are you okay?" She asked Amata.

"I'm fine." Amata replied.

"I saw that was hard for you. Don't worry, it will get easier." Sarah said. Amata didn't really seem reassured. "Take comfort in this Amata: you won't usually be fighting other humans with our luck." She said.

Amata looked up. "You're still going to ask?"

Sarah smiled. "You have potential and you have skill. I think you could do it. We'll ask when Leon is done speaking with my father."

Amata cheered up and stood up. "Thank you."

* * *

Leon walked over to the Elder, who was being scanned for injuries. Dusk and Kodiak

"Senior Knight Stinger, What do you need?"

"Elder Lyons, Sar... Sentinal Lyons said you wanted to speak to me." Leon said, catching himself. He wasn't supposed to call Sarah Lyons by her first name, especially around Elder Lyons. He almost always ignored that rule except when speaking to Elder Lyons.

"Yes. I did. Are these reports accurate? An unknown faction, brandishing technology that had never before been confirmed, not only possesing it but seemingly stockpiling it?"

"Yes. They refered to themselves as Supremacy One."

"And what about the rest? Dr. Li leading Supremacy One, working for them since before Project Purity?" Lyons asked, shocked and angered. "The third attack force, The Faction, destroying Vault 101? You can understand my skepticism."

"If I hadn't been there, I wouldn't believe it either. They placed some type of lantern shaped device on the ground. It reduced the Vault and Springvale to a crater.?

"I see." Elder Lyons said. "I've been informed that you courageously rescued Sarah. I must commend you."

"Just part of my job." Leon said, half lying through his teeth.

Lyons smiled. "All part of the job indeed. Even so, im rewarding you. Before I do anything, however, I must ask: How many did we lose?" Leon's heart sank like a rock when he remembered the casualties.

"Thirty Eight. Gallows and Colvin included." Leon said.

"Really? That many?" Lyons asked, painfully. "I never would have thought we could lose that many, at least not since the Enclave. Even the Super Mutants never..." The topic was obviously making Elder Lyons disheartened. "Either way I owe you a reward for your courage and your valor. And from what Kodiak tells me about your leadership on the battlefield, I can only think of one think that could be justifiable. I'm promoting you." Lyons said, cheerfully.

Leon's eyes widened. "What?" He asked in amazement.

"You're honest. You're honorable. You're a good man. What you have endured in all these years... I don't think I could do any of that, even back when I was in my prime." Lyons said, happily. Leon's face lit up. "Leon Stinger, I hearby declare you Star-Paladin of the Brotherhood of Steel. Wear that title with pride." Leon bowed in gratitude.

Sarah and Amata walked over to Leon who was smiling.

"Congratulations." Sarah said shaking his hand.

"Thank you." Leon said. "I guess now i've got responsibilities." He smiled with pride.

"I bet James would be proud to see you now." Amata said.

Leon's smile shrunk when he thought of his dad. "Yeah, I guess he would." Sarah noticed him getting depressed.

"We'll leave you to enjoy yourself." Sarah said.

* * *

She and Amata walked over to the Elder. He was speaking with Rothchild.

"Did you get it all?" Lyons asked.

"Yes, all of the weapons and technology they had on them. Its being marked now." Rothchild replied.

"Good." Lyons replied. Sarah walked up to him.

"Father, I need to speak to you." She said.

Lyons turned and looked at her, his face still calm as ever. "Yes, Sarah, what is it?" He asked.

"I have a new recruit for the Brotherhood." She said, pointing at Amata. "She has determination, skill, and is..."

"WHAT!?" Leon yelled. Within seconds he was right above there heads.

"...willing to be trained." Sarah finished. "Do you have a concern, Star-Paladin?" Sarah asked, sarcastically.

"Do I have a concern? YES I HAVE A CONCERN! When was this decided!?" Leon yelled, having never been informed.

"While you were on Zeta." Sarah declared. "It was her idea." Leon was speechless, looking at Amata.

"Come on Leon, the Vault was destroyed and I want to fight back." Amata said, determined to become a member of the Brotherhood.

Leon knew that Elder Lyons was going to say yes, so he responded with a request.

"If she joins, I train her, not Gunny." He said, simply.

"Approved." Elder Lyons said. "Anything else?" He asked.

"No." Sarah said.

"Thank you." Amata said.

They began to walk away, when Leon grabbed Amata. She was sure he was going to release all his fury. Instead the reply was worse.

"Keep the rifle, we start tomorrow."

* * *

I am reposting this message in case you don't see it on my profile:

MAJOR UPDATE 8/8/12: Starting NEXT WEEK, I will no longer have nearly as much time to write my stories and it will take much longer to update. I'm very sorry, but I will try to continue to update as frequently as I can.


	6. Building the Future to Mend the Past

Hello, I am sorry I haven't gotten a chance to update in a little while, I have been very busy. But I hope the wait was worth it because here is the next chapter.

Now some replies to reviews

CyberJordan: Nice guess. They do have bad history, as for weather or not they are a Renegade Faction... Not quite. You will have to keep reading to find out the truth.

Nukeman: Yes poor Vault 101 indeed.

Oddliver: the wait will be over sooner than you probably think.

Read and Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 6

Building the Future to Mend the Past

The morning following the Outcast assault was busy. Elder Lyons had approved Amata's recruitment and the Vault Dwellers encampment outside The Citadel, but that only made things more chaotic. Now they had to pool resources, send out double the salvage teams and increase patrols and guards. This wasn't even the beginning of their problems. The return of so many of the Outcast's caused disdain and anger to seed it's way into the hearts of the Paladins and Knights. They wanted nothing short of crushing the Outcasts forever. In the past night, two attempts w made to kill the now helpless Outcasts. The anger and resentment they held would rip them apart. At the center of it all, however, was the still ever looming threat of Supremacy One. With the Courier's army still days away, no one truly understood the power of what they were dealing with. It was a dark time and it was not over, not by a long shot.

* * *

Citadel Great Hall 8/23/86

The Great Hall was busy that morning. Constant meetings were being held, all over different topics. The one that Leon was involved in had one topic in mind, an echo of John's war meeting.

"Supremacy One is an enigma. We can't go in blind with these people." Rothchild stated. The meeting consisted of Leon, Elder Lyons, Head Scribe Rothchild, Sentinel Lyons, Scribe Bigsley from Project Purity, Bowditch, Peabody, and Jameson as well as several miscellaneous Paladins, Scribes, and Knights.

"We have no information on their defensive capabilities or offensive capabilities, short of what we saw used against us at the Threshold." Bowditch said.

Peabody crossed his arms. "I can't build a weapon against an enemy we know nothing about." He stated, crossly.

"I don't want to bury more of our Brothers and Sisters, Elder." Jameson said. "The Cross Incident was enough, but now Colvin and Gallows? Some of our finest men ripped apart..."

Elder Lyons shook his head. "I understand your concerns, but we must focus on one thing: the protection of Project Purity." Elder Lyons stated. "It has cleared the radiation from here to Point Lookout, but it is still needed. We must distribute the water to keep the wasteland alive. The purifier must be protected at all costs."

Bigsley smirked in relief. "At least theirs one problem dealt with." He said, smugly.

Knowing there was no point in arguing with his decree, Jameson spoke up on a different topic. "What do we do about the Outcasts? Their presence makes many uneasy." She said, in slight disgust. Sarah and Leon shot a look at each other. They had an idea.

Sarah spoke first. "I believe myself and Star-Paladin Stinger have a solution." She gestured over to Leon.

"We have discussed the topic and believe we may have a way of not only dealing with the Outcasts we have in the stockade. More than that we have a way of ending the civil war." Eyes darted to Leon and Sarah. They could hear the Paladins and Knights discussing and debating, the Scribes were looking at each other, uneasily. Elder Lyons brought them back to order.

"I wish to hear this." Elder Lyons said. Sarah looked at Leon and nodded. They both stood up and walked into the center of the great hall. Sarah gave the floor to Leon.

"Thank you, Elder." Leon said, gratefully. "As I have already stated, our plan could theoretically end the Brotherhood Civil War. Here is our idea. First off, We need to deal with the issues of the Outcasts in the stockade. We plan to interrogate the leaders of the strike force. I will be unavailable during that time, so Sentinel Lyons has volunteered to act as interrogator. Once we have received the information of why the assault was carried out, we move on to phase two: Forging an Alliance." The room yet again lit up with discussion and ferocity. Elder Lyons again called the group to order.

"Continue." Lyons said.

"Thank you." Leon replied. "As I was saying, step two is forming an alliance. We explain the threat of Supremacy One, use them as the focus, show the Outcasts we face a threat unlike anything any of us have dealt with before. Theoretically, this alliance end hostilities and ensure future peace talks with the Outcasts, which would, in time, reunite the Brotherhood of Steel." Leon finished on that note and the room was dead quiet. Even Elder Lyons did not speak. Than Bowditch did speak up.

"I will give my support." Bowditch said, confidently.

Jameson spoke with a different opinion. "I will not stand for this. The Outcast's have given away their honor and their pride. They are no more than animals and should be treated as such." Of all the people Leon expected to disapprove of his plan, Jameson was not one of them. She never seemed to have serious trouble with them.

It didn't matter, Elder Lyons saw to that with his next few words. "I approve." Elder Lyons said. "If you two believe it will work, than I am with you to the end. Carry it out immediately."

The two soldiers bowed and left the room. They looked at each other and nodded, taking separate paths out.

* * *

B.O.S Stockade, Interrogation

Interrogation was a dark room, dimly lit, with ripped up walls and rusted steel frames. No windows, simply one dim, buzzing light in the center of the room above an iron table and iron chairs. An audio recorder was hidden in the table. Sitting in one of the iron chairs was Protector Morgan, dressed in a straight jacket. Sarah Lyons walked through the door at the far end of the room, bringing in two guards. She sat down in the second chair and stared coldly into the eyes of Morgan.

"I'm not going to try and play nice here, Morgan. You were facing charges of treason before this, and under any other circumstances you and the Outcast's would be dead now. This, however, is not the time for trial and execution."

"I beg to differ." Morgan scornfully stated. "If you are going to kill me, don't lie about it. I'd rather die before being forced to deal with you, traitor."

Sarah ignored her and continued on. "You assaulted the Citadel, killed our recruits, and nearly murdered Elder Lyons, not to mention you already committed treason. I'm being honest: if you were going to die by our hand, it would have been done already."

Morgan smirked and looked at the ceiling. "I suppose." She looked back at Sarah. "If you're not going to kill me, why speak to me?" She asked, knowing the Brotherhoods ways.

"I'm asking the questions, and I'll start with an obvious one: why did you attack the Citadel?" She asked. Before Morgan replied, Sarah spoke again. "Don't say it was because of The Cross Incident or the war. You had over nine years to attack, but you chose now. Why? What was it that provoked you?" She asked, angrily.

Morgan's expression went sour, her face filled with rage. "You know why, and even if you don't, your dear old dad does." She said. Sarah looked at her with disgust, while Morgan smiled with delight. "Your father ordered several of his men to rob the Outcast Archives. They were disguised as our own, and took everything right under our noses. They would have succeeded in getting away undetected had one of your men not tipped us off." Morgan looked at her half-joyed, half-angry. Sarah didn't respond immediately. She did not want to believe that her father would give that order. However, there was very little to suggest otherwise.

She would ponder it later, there was a more pressing matter to deal with. "You asked me why we didn't execute you, well answer me one last question and i'll answer yours: what do you know about Supremacy One?"

Morgan looked at her puzzled. "Supremacy One? What the hell is Supremacy One?" That was the answer Sarah had hoped for. It meant there was still a chance for a peace.

"I'll put it to you this way: They are the reason you are still alive." Sarah said. Morgan didn't take her seriously.

"Sure. They paid you a few hundred caps to keep us alive. I always knew you were sellouts." Morgan said, annoyed.

"Listen to me. They aren't any allies of ours." Sarah raised her voice. "They are in possession of technology and weapons far more advanced than anything else ever seen." The terror in Sarah's voice was an absolute joy to Morgan. "If they aren't the worst of our problems, their foes, The Faction, definitely are. You're alive because we need an alliance, we need the Outcasts."

Morgan's eyes widened. "Are you kidding me?" Morgan asked. "After all this, you actually have the audacity to ask us for help? We have no reason to help you. Supremacy One hasn't attacked us, and if they destroy you, we can complete our mission, we can reclaim the Brotherhood of Steel."

Sarah finally had enough of Morgan, she was almost ready to beg for an alliance. However she knew the one thing that the Outcast's craved: Technology.

"Alright, what piece of technology would it take for an alliance?" Sarah asked.

Morgan smiled maliciously, and Sarah knew she wouldn't like the answer.

* * *

Citadel Courtyard

Amata sat in the courtyard on a stack of bricks, waiting for what was to come. She had been equipped with Recon Armor and still had the Xuanlong assault rifle. It had taken some time to adjust to the armor, but now she was using it fine. That, of course, could change anytime. She knew Leon and when he was angry he always made it clear. When he didn't, that was when things went south. That meant that he was planning something. It was driving her crazy to know what it was. She was losing patience when he finally showed up.

"Well, you took your time." She said.

Leon smirked. "What was that Initiate?" He said, almost giggling.

"Nothing Sir." Amata said, remembering she wasn't in charge.

"Good." Leon said, trying not to laugh. He was almost having fun. It wasn't that he liked ordering Amata around, it was that he enjoyed ordering the Vault 101 Overseer around. He knew he couldn't drag that on for very long, though, and moved on.

"Are you ready?" Leon asked.

"Yes." Amata said, hopping up from the bricks. "You still haven't told me what we're doing." She stated, looking at him.

"I know." He stated, smiling somewhat sinisterly. "Come on." He started walking towards the door. She followed, cautiously. They exited the Citadel passing the Vault 101 encampment. They walked to the north, arriving on a bridge.

"Why are we here?" Amata asked. Leon turned around and dropped a Combat Knife on the ground. He looked with a cold gaze pulling out his own knife, Occam's Razor, taken from Talon Company nine years earlier.

"Defend yourself!" He declared, and swung with the Razor. Amata ducked for her own combat knife. Leon missed and she picked the knife scrambling to her feet.

"What the hell are you doing!?" She asked, yelling. She dodged several more stabs by Leon.

"I'm training you." He said, taking several more swings at Amata. "Your enemy will not play fair. The fight won't be controlled, and no matter what your life is on the line." He continued to swing at Amata's chest and she dodged away, shaky and uncoordinated. "I don't want you to just dodge. Fight back!" He yelled continuing to stab at her.

"But..." She tried to start.

"Don't look at me like I'm your friend. Look at me like im your enemy, trying to end your life. Fight me, Fight me now!" He said, as one of his blades cut into Amata's arm, it was enough for Amata to strike back.

She took her knife and stabbed back at Leon. Several strikes missed while another was blocked by his knife. She jumped back as Leon drove his knife dangerously close to her neck. Amata gave a wide sweep and slashed into Leon's leg shaving off some skin on his knee, causing him to bleed. He smiled, then pulled out the Zhu-Rong Incendiary Pistol. He opened fire and burned some of Amata's Recon Armor. She didn't ask why he was shooting, she remembered Leon's words: your enemy will not play fair. With pin-point precision that amazed even her, Amata threw her Combat Knife into Leon's arm, stabbing him straight in the shoulder. She pulled out the Xuanlong Assault Rifle and activated VATS. She landed four direct hits on the pistol. It flew out of Leon's hand as he pulled the knife from his arm. Amata dove forward and grabbed the pistol, gravel and pavement flew up into her face. She jumped up on her feet and aimed the weapon at Leon's face. He put his hands up, and they both looked at each other. Leon was covered in gashes and cuts from Amata and his hand had lacerations thanks to the Xuanlong Assault rifle. Amata on the other hand had peforations on her left shoulder from the Zhu-Rong Pistol, several deep wounds from the Razor, and a cut across her face from gravel.

Leon started laughing. "Good job, very good job." He said, simply. "You were somewhat shaky and unbalanced. You could fight better than you did, I know it. Other than that well done. Exercise complete."

Amata slowly lowered the Zhu-Rong. When Leon tried to recover it, however, she said one thing: "Get your own. This is mine."

Leon smiled. "Your going to make a good soldier." He said, almost fatherly.

_Thank god you think so, because I don't think I can ever pull that off again._ She thought. Leon started walking back towards the Citadel, and Amata tagged close behind.

* * *

Arriving back at the Citadel, they were greeted by several medics and Elder Lyons. He was grinning, and looked at Leon.

"I would hope that this was all caused by you and her jumping into an army of Super Mutants." He said, sarcastically.

Leon shook his head. "No, this was training." Amata looked up at Leon.

"The lethal version." She added. Elder Lyons walked over to her.

"I hope he wasn't too tough on you, my girl." Elder Lyons asked concerned. Amata looked up.

"Don't worry, I can handle it." She stated, overconfident and lying through her teeth.

"Well, you're going to have to prove that soon enough." Sarah's voice suddenly entered the conversation. They looked over from the pile of bricks they were sitting on and saw the Sentinel approach.

"Sarah, it's good to see you. Have you succeeded with the Outcasts?" Elder Lyons asked.

"Yes... But there's a catch." Sarah stated, hesitantly. Leon raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked.

"Our original plan was to use Supremacy One as the focus of our alliance, right?" She stated. "Well, there was one thing we didn't count on: their arrogance. So I was forced to make an alternative deal."

"What do you mean: alternative deal?" Lyons asked.

"They would only agree if we put technology on the line."

"Well, that should be easy to appease. We have plenty." Leon said, optimistically.

"Not exactly. We only had one thing they were willing to take." Sarah said, her expression becoming uneasy.

"What is it?" Lyons asked.

"Keep in mind what we're facing before I tell you." Sarah said.

"Sarah. What is it?" Elder Lyons asked.

Sarah didn't speak at first. Then she gained the strength to say it, swallowing her pride.

"Liberty Prime. They want Liberty Prime."

Leon jumped from the can he was sitting on. "You have to be joking." Leon stated, angry.

"Wish I was." Sarah said.

_They are not taking Prime. _Leon thought. For nine years now they had been rebuilding him after the Enclave's orbital strike. He was being rebuilt, armed to the teeth, and improved. Leon had given the technology he was getting off Mothership Zeta to them. Now he was armed, primed, and ready, Leon wasn't ready to lose it. However, it didn't matter.

"Tell them they have a deal." Lyons said. "But tell them they only get him when we know Supremacy One is defeated."

"Yes, Elder." Sarah stated.

Elder Lyons looked at Leon. "You and Sarah said that you had a lead on where they are?" He asked.

Leon wanted to yell but he knew it wasn't the time.

"Yes. The Commonwealth." Leon declared.

"The Commonwealth? That's a long march." Elder Lyons said. "But I suppose it's a necessary march." He turned at Sarah. "Arm the Outcasts and our men. Gather as many soldiers as you can and prepare to leave for The Commonwealth at dawn."

Sarah nodded. Elder Lyons glared at Leon and he knew what he had to do: Tell the Vault Dwellers that he was taking Amata. He left with Amata in tow. Elder Lyons stood in the ruined courtyard.

"God give me strength."

* * *

The next morning an army departed from the Citadel, armed to the teeth and almost the entirety of the Brotherhood of Steel and the Outcasts. No one spoke, and the march to war had begun.

Across the river, though, a lone sniper watched the departure. Sending a message to a unknown location, the message read: "The pieces have fallen where they are needed. They will fight, they will die, and when Supremacy One is all but dust, our fight will continue. Long live the future, Long live the Faction."


	7. Contact at Last

Hello. Off the bat i have something to say: Sorry for the longer waits, but I'm still very busy and this is more of a "Transition" Chapter than anything else, it may seem rushed. I did put lots of thought into it and it ends with what you have all been waiting for. I'd also like to say that if anyone thinks that the heroes will meet, fight people , and then i will end the story, you are very wrong. I promised it would be longer and better, so i will live up to that promise.

I also would like to address the recent grammar issues. I am currently getting a new computer and have been writing on an IPAD, making it harder to edit through my story. I hope to resolve that soon. Other than that, I hope you are all enjoying it so far, keep sending reviews and feedback.

Cyberjordan: They are smart, anyone who could destroy a Vault would have to be. Soon enough you'll see just how well they play their cards.

Oddliver: I think of it more as winding up a time-bomb and letting it go off. You were waiting for the good stuff, the wait is about to be over.

Read and Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 7

Contact at Last

West Massachusetts, 8/29/86

The march to the Commonwealth was suprisingly peaceful, yet uneasy. There were no raider attacks, no animal strikes, and no internal conflicts. There was, however, contempt. The Brotherhood of Steel and Outcast forces looked at each other with disdain and hatred. It was an uneasy alliance to say the least. For six days they had bickered. Some complained about the conditions, the area was enveloped in true Nuclear Winter. It hadn't cleared in two hundred years, and was slowing there progress significantly: Rather than the quick four day walk, they realized it would be at least early september by the time they made it there. Other complaints were more directly controllable: Sleeping Arrangements, Rationing Food, and General Location. Despite that, it wasn't the complaints that worried Leon and Company; it was the simple fact that the bitterest of foes were forced to work together. They bickered, they insulted each other, there was even an occasional fight. It was a very direct truth: No one knew if the peace could last.

Amata was on a nearby small hill with several members of India Company, her new assignment. The team was mainly a scout force consisting of: Paladin Daniel Cash, Team Leader and Heavy Weapons Expert; Senior Knight Sera Keller, Communications; Knight Cyprus Saxon, Sniper; Initiate Kessler Rouge, Medic; and Amata, who acted as Small Arms Specialist. They were on lookout for any hostile forces.

"We should head back down to camp." Keller said. Keller was the oldest of the group, forty-four. She was hispanic, had Blonde hair, and somewhat yellow eyes.

"We aren't leaving until we are called back." Cash replied. The thirty-seven year old Paladin was African-American, light brown eyes, with maroon hair.

"We follow orders Keller. We don't leave until told." Saxon said. The youngest of the group, twenty-two, caucasian, and jet black hair.

"What are you expecting to see?" Keller asked.

"Hostiles." Cash replied. "They could be anything from a Super-Mutant raiding party, to an army of ruthless, efficient, and murderous cyborgs invading from a secret vault lair."

"Oh Come On! What are the chances of that?" Keller asked.

"Slim, but it could happen." Cash said. "It could happen."

Amata and Rouge remained silent. Amata didn't know her team that well and they didn't trust her yet. As for Rouge, he was mute, never communicating, yet he was by far the most effective medic in the Brotherhood of Steel.

Cash looked at Amata. "Initiate, What do you think?"

Amata looked back. "About what?"

"Weather or not we leave."

Amata was hesitant to respond. She thought about it for a moment. "Better safe than sorry." She said.

"Good answer." Cash said.

Keller stopped arguing and walked away. Amata continued siting on her rock. Within minutes after, however, Saxon spoke up.

"Sir! I see something." He declared.

Cash walked up. "What is it?"

"Can't tell. It looks like something is moving in the distance. 400 Yards South."

"Rouge! Take the Initiate and go get the Sentinel." Cash said.

Rouge nodded and grabbed Amata. They started moving back down the hill and made their way back to Sarah and Leon.

* * *

Sarah and Leon were sitting on the cold icy ground in one of the tents with a map. They were searching for a straight shot to the Commonwealth, which was located on the coastline.

Sarah pointed at the center of the state map. "We can't advance through the heavy blizzard zone. Tempertures in that region reach an all time high of -60'F. Our Power Armor would shut down and we would die out there."

Leon pointed at the northern half. "This area is infested with super mutants. From what i've heard the far northeast is overrun with them."

Sarah crossed her arms. "Then that leaves us with one route: along the state border. It's the only real option."

Leon nodded and began drawing a line with a red pencil. He looked up from the map to Sarah, she looked concerned. "Something wrong?" He asked.

"No. Just anxious." She stated. She was somewhat transparent when she lied.

"Seriously, whats wrong?" Leon asked. "You've been shaking and quivering since we left, and we both know that is beyond rare. You're scared of something."

Sarah gave a half-smile. "Well, aren't you the observant one." Leon didn't reply to her sarcasm. "Okay, if you want to know, i'm scared of Supremacy One." Leon raised his eyebrows and widened his eyes. She took note of that. "I'm terrified of them Leon. Before now we have at least had an understanding of our enemies. A motive, an intent. Basically, an idea of what they wanted and what they were going to do, but these people we know nothing about. They are freaking unpredictable, and that scares me."

Leon smirked with sarcasm. "Well, this is new." Leon said. "The great Sentinel Sarah Lyons, Leader of the Pride, Hero of the Brotherhood of Steel, scared by uncertainty."

She frowned. "Cut the crap. I'm serious." She stated, viciously.

"So am I." Leon stated. He leaned over and looked straight into her eyes. "When I was out in the wasteland, looking for my dad, do you think I knew everything about what I was dealing with? When I was offered the chance to destroy Megaton, do you think I immediately knew what to do? Or when I fought the battle for the Pitt, I was always plotting to betray Wherner? They were choices, all of which had a degree of uncertainty. The Payout versus General Morality; the original goal versus what you discover. All of which are uncertain at the beginning. Those were my choices, none of which you need to make in this fight. The only choice you need to make is whether you face your fear of the unknown or continue to run from it."

Sarah looked at him and fully smiled. "Thanks. That does actually help."

Leon sat back. "I know this is a little new, not having exact orders and the feeling of uncertainty, but just be ready for anything." Leon knew she was a soldier, and that it wasn't just uncertainty bugging her, soldiers have orders and percise orders at that. There is no flexibility on assignment, just follow to the letter orders.

"You know I think this conversation may be backwards. Sarah said, jokingly.

Before Leon could reply Amata opened the tent flap. "Ma'am, Paladin Cash is requesting your presence."

They both stood up and walked out of the tent.

When they arrived at the hill Saxon was still pointing down on one location.

"Soldier report!" Sarah yelled.

"I have a visual on several unknown objects to the west. They are definitely not natural formations."

He handed her a Snipers Rifle. She aimed to the same spot as Saxon. There were three objects in the distance. Several smaller moving objects and a larger stationary ones.

"Must be an enemy encampment." Sarah said. "Fall back, we need to move out. We cannot afford to lose any forces before we reach the Commonwealth." The soldiers all complied aware that it very well could be paranoia setting in that was causing them to panic.

They took their forces and moved out, preparing for a straight shot to the Commonwealth.

* * *

Four days later, they had reached the final stretch. Passing over a range of hills, they were in sight of their destination. Leon stood on the hillside, looking down into there destination. The Commonwealth was nothing like he heard it was. He had heard it was a war-torn ruin, ravaged by anger and greed, the only location that was supposedly working was the Institute. What he saw was a city powered up with fully functioning factories and refurbished buildings, as well as the kicker: at least five platoons of Supremacy One soldiers at the door.

"How the hell do we get in there?" Sarah said, seeing the same thing he did.

"I don't know. Maybe..." Leon was cut off by a familiar sound. It was faint at first but then it got louder and louder. The entire task force could hear it now: the sound of Vertibirds. Leon turned around and saw a sight to behold. Dozens of Vertibirds raced through out the sky, some were moving slowly and preparing to land, while others raced ahead firing mass amounts of White Phosphorus. Leon was shocked._ First Supremacy One, Now the_ Enclave? Suddenly his heart sank when he saw a sight he had hoped to never see on the battlefield: a Zeta Recon Craft active and firing away at the city. His Pip-Boy lit up as the troops began to land around the hills, backed by Chimera Tanks, and approach the task force. He hit a button on his Pip-Boy, and Elliot's voice came through on the comm. channel._  
_

"Leon, I have no idea whats happening down there but the ion disturbance just collapsed. Ive got a full view of the area, sending scans now."

Leon couldn't reply because the recon craft had turned around and was hovering not ten feet in front of him. The task force was surrounded and the recon craft did a full 360' degree turn revealing a Raven painted on the bottom hatch. The hatch opened and a single man jumped out as the craft set down. Leon got only a glimpse of a symbol on his back and it was all he needed to at least know who he was dealing with. That didn't make the revelation any easier...

The Courier's army had arrived.


	8. Watch Your World Burn

Hello. I'm back, and so is my story. You're about to see the fight with Supremacy One escalate as revelations are unveiled, enemies return, and the greatest casualty of war occurs.

Reply time.

Cyberjordan: There won't be... At least at first...MWAHAHAHA!

Oddliver: You'll see all of those, with the exception of the human operated Liberty-Prime.

Nukeman: Depends... In the case of vehicles and super weapons, Liberty-Prime. In the case of Human Vs Human, Courier. Nothing against the Lone Wanderer, but the Courier lived in the birthplace of the Western Gunslinger.

Now, the war continues.

* * *

Chapter 8

Watch Your World Burn

Commonwealth Outskirts 9/1/86

John stood on the hill not five feet away from Leon. His emerald eyes locked onto Leon hazel eyes. He had his hand on his revolver, while Leon was holding a Double-Barrel Shotgun. Sarah walked up from behind Leon, aiming her Laser Rifle down at John. Similarly Ulysses did the same with his 12.7mm Submachine Gun.

"Stop. Right. There." Sarah said, her face filled with suspicion. John didn't reply he just kept looking at Leon. Leon holstered his weapon and John took his hand off his.

"Stand down, Sentinel." Leon said. Sarah looked at him, and Leon looked back, shaking his head slightly. She holstered her rifle and stood back along side Morgan. Leon looked back at John and Ulysses.

"Are you from the Brotherhood of Steel?" John asked.

Leon was slightly hesitant to speak. "Yes. Why?" Leon asked.

John didn't reply, instead a small voice from behind spoke. "Really? Well, that makes things simpler." John got nudged to the side, and a young woman walked up from behind. She was dressed in tattered and armored robes, with some type of heated gauntlet on her hand. She walked up to Leon and put out her hand.

"Veronica Santangelo." Veronica stated, shaking Leon's hand. "Scribe of the Western Brotherhood of Steel. That's John Hollister of the New Vegas Confederacy, and Ulysses of the Old World Guard." Leon retracted his hand, unsure of how to react. Morgan on the other hand had her reply ready.

"The Brotherhood out west has heard our pleas? At last, arrest these traitors!" Morgan yelled. Veronica looked at her, confused.

"Pleas...traitors...what?" Veronica said. Before Morgan could continue her rant, John interrupted.

"Ah, i see. You're part of the separatists. The Outcasts." John stated. Morgan's head jolted at him.

"How do you know that?" She asked.

"Simple, Veronica here told me." John said. "And I hate to break this to you, but the Brotherhood of Steel isn't coming." John saw Morgan's expression shift from joy to terror.

"What...?"

"The Brotherhood has been devastated in a war with a former nation, the New California Republic. There is only a handful of survivors, kept alive by the New Vegas Confederacy." John stated. Morgan was struck with horror. _The Entire Brotherhood destroyed? How can that be? _She thought. John didn't bother to do anything to stop her from panicking and looked back at Leon. Leon's face was filled with suspicion and a sense of smug understanding.

"Why are you here?" Leon asked. John smiled.

"Then you know who I am?" John asked back.

"No, but I know the stories." Leon stated. "I've heard them all, and I don't believe a single one." John just continued to stand, knowing his own history.

"Well, then here is a true introduction." John walked up and held out his own hand. "John Arcturus Hollister. Courier." He stated, humbly.

Leon shook his hand. "Leon Benjamin Stinger. Lone Wanderer."

"Fancy title." John said.

"Well earned." Leon replied.

"Tell me, Leon... do you know what your walking into down there?" John asked.

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"

John laughed. "You ask questions before you answer them, I like that." John said. "I'll give you a simple answer: I understand more about them than I would ever like too. You say you know the stories, have you ever heard of Raven's Run?"

Leon lit up with terror. His eyes widened, his heart pounded like a thousand drums, and he shook with horror. John looked into his eyes and knew Leon understood now._  
_

"Raven's Run..." Leon started. "It was the first story I heard...The tale of the Courier's assault on the fortress..." Leon was hesitant with his words, occasionally swallowing hard. "...of a force that had put a stranglehold on the southwest. A force..."

"A force called Supremacy One." John finished. "The same force holding in that city. Leon's heart continued to pound. I know there are stories about me that probably are... Let's say, Lost in Translation, but trust me when I say Supremacy One is not an enemy you should underestimate. I've already underestimated them once; it didn't end well."

Leon began to calm down. "We need the support to take the city. We need to plan out this assault though." He stated. John nodded, and then made a hand gesture to Ulysses. Ulysses pulled out a communicator.

"This is President Ulysses of the Old World Guard, regroup on the far hills when the bombing run is over. We have new allies that need to be brought up to speed."

The task force surrounding the Brotherhood began pulling crates and tents off of the Chimera Tanks which then positioned themselves on the hills, opening fire on the far city walls. A good deal of damage was done giving them a clear shot at any platoons in that area. There was no denying it. They were at war.

* * *

Several Hours Later they had begun building encampments to surround the city. The Chimera's continued tearing through the walls as Robo-Scorpions were deployed inside the shattered walls to advance on the heavy assault force present in the city. They were making slow progress, far too slow for them to make any real substantial pushes towards the Institute, which was, from what intelligence spoke of, a practical fortress. Heavy Cannons surrounding the base were demolishing all attempts to seize the complex from Supremacy One. The Old World Guard made multiple attacks on the city to no avail, and the Brotherhood was in the process of being properly equipped for the full assault.

John, Leon, Sarah, Ulysses, and Veronica stood around a command table, lit up with a map of the city. The Commonwealth was massive, filled with people and machines alike. Their invasion was not going well. Supremacy One was once again proving their technological superiority, with Phantasms making advances very difficult as well as Heavy Soldiers and Assault troopers establishing suppressing fire on all incursions across the city.

"This is not good. We have soldiers pinned down in the Research Sector, and our attacking force in the Central Sector have been decimated." Ulysses stated, grimly. "Is the Brotherhood ready yet?" He asked.

Sarah shook her head. "We haven't been fully equipped for the assault."

"It doesn't matter, we are getting slaughtered." Veronica said. "Without a proper readout on that place we don't know what were walking into."

"Oh, Crap." Leon said. He looked around, realizing he forgot Elliot's Maps.

"Something you want to share Leon?" John asked.

"Yeah..An...ally of mine sent me scans of the Institute when you arrived. I forgot about them when you started the attack."

"Son of a... YOU WAITED UNTIL NOW TO TELL US THIS!" John yelled.

"It didn't occur to me until now! You think I purposely would let people die!?" Leon replied.

John was disgusted, but didn't really have the time to argue with him. "Show me the scans."

Leon placed a holotape with the data into the table scanner. Suddenly the map lit up and three-dimensional images of the Institute appeared on the table maps.

The facility consisted of the ruins of a Pre-War University, walled off by battlements and fortifications. There were three heavy cannons on deployed on the central grounds of the facility, which were surrounded by smaller machine guns. However, upon closer inspection the cannons were actually on top of the corners of a massive triangular hatch.

"Leon, is there anyway to scan what is below the compound?" John asked.

Leon, slightly agitated, activated the display so there were geological scans. The screen blinked for a minute and then the scans came up: Massive underground structures and tunnels, built fairly recently, were packed to the brim with Cyber-Cabling, transferring power from an unknown location outside the Commonwealth to a super-structure below the hatch. When the scan finished, it revealed a horrifying sight.

"My god..." Sarah said, filled with dread. Everyone froze, even John shivered with fear. Below the hatch was a massive weapon, a gigantic Energy Cannon, several hundred feet in size and scope.

No one could speak. The sheer size and scale of this weapon was terrifying, the destructive force it was capable of; devastation on a level unlike anything they had ever seen before.

"Veronica, what can we do about destroying that thing?" John asked. A light wind pushed through the tent.

"I don't know, maybe detonate C-4 at these Trigger Points?" She said, pointing at energy conductors near the base of the Cannon. The wind picked up again, rushing their tent and several others.

"Can it fire?" John asked. Veronica didn't reply, she just stood frozen.

"Veronica, can it fire?" John asked, becoming agitated.

"I don't know, I really don't know. It doesn't look operational, but seeing were dealing with..." She was cut off by an incredibly violent gust of wind. The tent nearly fell over when that happened, John looked at the flaps of the tent which were being blown wide open.

"What is going on out there?" John walked out of the tent, Leon tagging close behind. They walked out to darkness, the previously clear skies were covered in massive dark clouds, the world below engulfed in shadow. A command officer ran up to him.

"It just appeared sir." He said. "One minute clear then the next were just seeing massive fluctuations on all our gear. Changes in the weather patterns, massive spikes in radiation, and enough lightning to power New Vegas for centuries at least. It's not natural."

Leon's eyes darted to the officer. "Lightning?" He asked, concerned.

"Yes sir. It hasn't discharged any to the surface, yet." As if on Que, a huge burst in the clouds released massive amounts of pouring rain, earth shattering lightning, and deafening thunder. Hundreds of bolts hit the city, in some form of coordination. Screams of the dying could be heard for miles. As the super-storm began tearing apart the city, Sarah ran out.

"Leon! Hollister!" She yelled. "We are getting reports all over the city, distress signals are coming in. They are saying that unknown hostile forces are literally walking out of the lightning hitting the city. They aren't very picky about picking their targets, they are killing everyone. Supremacy One and Us."

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning crashed to the ground nearby, lighting the surrounding area on fire. Soldiers surrounded the flames, only to hear machine-like noises from within. Suddenly bolts of energy surges from within killing the soldiers. Leon shook with dread as the all too familiar sound of hydraulic power armor began to move. He knew the threat: The Faction had arrived.

Four Faction soldiers rose from the flames, looking around picking out targets there was a moment of silence, then three words by the Faction.

"Kill them all."

The Faction opened fire with a wide burst of high-amp electricity in a long arc. Six Old World Guard soldiers were turned into sludge inside their armor, melted. Four more s moved to stop the Faction's forces who opened fire with a grenade, the device exploded and released mustard gas into the air killing the troopers. The Courier grabbed his LAER and opened fire. The beams deflected off their armor like it was a rock. The Faction Commander turned and looked at John and Leon.

"Targets in sight." He stated over his radio. "Orders?" He asked on his communicator. Whispers made there way over the Comm. Channel. "Understood." He said. Long live the Faction. The Soldier ignored John and turned to Leon.

"You were warned not to interfere. You are fortunate that we have more pressing concerns than you and your annoyances." The soldier turned and looked at John. "You are John Hollister, Courier, Sovereign of New Vegas, and destroyer of the Spearhead. You were not expected, and have interfered in our affairs. The Faction does not forgive. Interference is intolerable. The future will decide if you survive the coming apocalypse, and we are the future. Prepare yourself."

The soldiers began to load there weapons when Ulysses opened fire with Saturnite bullets. It pierced there armor killing the commander and two of his soldiers, while the fourth bled out. Leon ran over and grabbed him.

"What do you want, why are you here?" The soldier didn't reply instead he activated a device on his hand. There was a beeping, John quickly grabbed Leon and jumped on the ground. The armor exploded in a blast of blue fire, vaporizing the bodies and slightly burning John's duster and Leon's Armored jumpsuit.

Leon shrugged slightly. "Thanks." He said.

"No problem. There something else you want tell me?" John asked.

Leon remembered he was shaking, it had given away he knew the Faction. Something else he didn't mention.

"I'll tell you if were not all dead by nightfall." Leon said.

"Agreed." John said. He looked at Ulysses. "Signal every available unit for an all-out assault on the Institute. I am not letting Supremacy One slip through my fingers again."

* * *

Within half an hour after their arrival, the Faction was already making more progress then the Task Force. There was a presence of at least two hundred soldiers versus at least one thousand, combining the task force and Supremacy One. The sad part was: the Faction was winning. They had beaten Supremacy One back to the Institute, and had already destroyed all of the Task Force Incursions. It was all up to the Courier and Lone Wanderer to defeat Supremacy One.

John and Leon were on board the Raven with Ulysses as pilot. They were flying several thousand feet over the Institute watching the fighting below. Leon looked at John with concern.

"You actually believe this will work?" Leon asked.

"Not at all." John replied. "There is a very good chance we will hit the ground and be killed. But seeing as though there aren't any other options, i'll take my chances." John pulled out his new Falcon Stealth Suit, a wing-suit version of the original Stealth-Suit Mark II, while Leon put one on as well.

"Ready?" John asked.

"As I'll ever be." Leon said.

"GO! GO! GO!"

They jumped out of the Raven dropping rapidly. Free-falling for about ten seconds, they activated the suits flying in at almost terminal velocity to a reasonable speed. Gliding in quickly they were about to reach the ground. They glided in right above the heavy cannons and landed perfectly thanks to some of the features in the suits. Now, on the ground they drew there LAERS and moved towards the entrance to the Energy Cannon.

Once inside they were met with quite a surprise: silence and emptiness. No guards, no alarms, simple silence. It was making them uneasy as they walked down hexagonal hallways ripe with damage: Fallen cabling and wreckage from the fighting above, burns and severe damages. They continued to advance towards the control room occasionally seeing fleeing personnel from the base. After a short walk they found there way into the control room. Entering the door they saw the weapons up close as well as a single person. Operating the controls was non other than the Advisor and nearby was a the corpse of Dr. Li stabbed by the Advisors Blades.

Leon walked over to the corpse. "This is how you treat you own?" Leon asked. The Advisor turned around and saw them. Seeing John surprised her. She then looked back at Leon.

"She was never my own. She was Orion's, and has been set free. Myself as well, but in obviously different ways." The Advisor stated, her voice no longer sounding mechanical. "I never believed we would meet again Hollister."

John held up his gun. "You thought wrong." John said, filled with anger.

Leon held up his weapon after vaporizing Li's corpse. "Why did you attack Vault 101?"

"To have an audience with you, of course. Li took it too far when she tried you like a criminal, and then i actually agreed. It is only now I know I was wrong." Advisor stated,

John was now curious. None of Supremacy One had ever felt remorse, especially not machines. "Who are you? The last time we met you acted like a machine, a Supremacy One Assassin. Now you say you've been freed. You're not a machine your very human."

The Advisor grabbed her hood and slowly took it off. There were small white dots and implants surfacing on her head. She was completely hairless. She then began taking off her helmet, and the revelation hit John hard.

The Advisor was President Samantha Case.

Her left eye had been gouged out, and replaced with a solid blue mechanical eye, her face had similarly been modified, with miniature wires sticking out of her cheeks and forehead.

"Case..."

"No. Samantha Case is dead. I am Winter, Agent of the Faction, and you... You have failed." She slammed her fist down on the control panel then teleported away. Leon and John ran forward, looking at the controls.

"Crap, she's activated the cannon." John stated.

"What is it targeting?" Leon asked.

John's eyes widened. "It looks like... High earth orbit."

Leon looked at him. "What?"

"Look for yourself. Coordinates, everything. High earth orbit." John stated.

Leon analyzed the numbers as the cannon powered up and realized what they were targeting. He used the monitor to locate the coordinates and his fears were confirmed: the weapon was going to destroy Mothership Zeta. Suddenly alarms began to ring: OVERLOAD IMMINENT! EVACUATE COMPOUND! With no time to lose they ran as the cannon prepared to fire.

Arriving back on the surface they turned to see the cannon's beam race into the sky. At first there was nothing, then the sky crackled with an explosion of incredible scale and size. It roared across the earthen skies, seen from the Commonwealth to the Midwest. Suddenly the ground burst open sending Leon and John flying, they world went black for them.

* * *

Several hours later John woke in a pile of burning rubble. He wasn't in pain, his cybernetics healed him up. He pulled out his pip-boy which was somehow still working.

"This is John Hollister, on all frequencies, someone reply." He said, looking around the ruins for Leon.

"John? Oh thank god. Good to hear from you." Veronica said over the radio.

"You too. I'm looking for Leon."

"He's not with you?" Sarah interrupted, sounding very concerned.

"No. He..." John heard him moan. He ran over the wreckage towards the sound. He kept hearing him moan. He picked through the rubble finding him beneath the wreckage. Pulling off the slab of stone from his torso, he found a horrifying sight. He right side of Leon's face had been burned off along with all his hair, his right arm had been severed from his torso at the shoulder, and flying shrapnel had gone clear through him in at least two dozen spots.

GET EXTRACTION AIRCRAFT OUT HERE. RIGHT. NOW.


	9. Damning Actions and Condemned Survival

Hello. Thanks for all the reviews and feedback. This has already surpassed Fallout: Supremacy One, and we aren't even half way done. We are getting close to being half way, though.

By the way, this chapter is not my greatest work. It's more or less a transition to the next. It has been through several rewrites and I still am not sure about it. I put a lot of thought into it but I don't know if it's good to go or feels rushed, it's hard to tell with this one. Please tell me in reviews, it would help me decide what to do next. Thanks.

* * *

Supremacy One and the Faction have struck a blow that will shatter the foundations of the Brotherhood of Steel, force people to make choices, and watch as a villian greater than what they could have imagined is forged from their greatest hero.

* * *

CyberJordan: Cybernetic? Yes. Your level of cybernetic? No. You'll see what I mean later. Case (or Winter as she is now) had that done to her by Supremacy One. As for the Weather control, it was something I had in mind when I gave the Faction Lightning Weapons.

ejwrites: What have I done? Why, i've started the fire that will burn an empire to the ground.

Oddliver: WHAT!? The Lone Wanderer is in critical condition and you don't even bother mentioning him. I mean sure Mothership Zeta was awesome but what good is it without the Captain?

* * *

Chapter 9

Danming Actions and Condemned Survival

John, Sarah, and Amata rushed back to the Citadel aboard the Raven while the task force began to load onto the Vertibirds. A small force was left behind with Ulysses and Veronica to scan and search for any remaining data or technology. Leon was still unconscious, his face was heavily bandaged, and they had managed to stop some of the bleeding. However he would still die if they didn't get proper medical attention.

"Can't you go any faster!?" Sarah yelled.

"Watch me." John set the acceleration and velocity to high, and they were running like a bat out of hell.

Amata sat next to the medical bed Leon was on. He was still bleeding, both externally and internally. "Please... You can't die..." She said, crying.

"He won't. We're entering the Capital now."

* * *

Citadel Courtyard

That morning had been quite busy. Tensions had arisen between the Vault Dwellers and Brotherhood. The Brotherhood had cut them some slack but now they were angry. The Vault Dwellers had been taking food for themselves and leaving the Brotherhood emergency Rations. While at first the Brotherhood didn't mind, they had lost their home after all, now they were angry.

Elder Lyons and Rothchild stood in the courtyard, arguing about the situation.

"We will not turn our backs on these people, Rothchild, and that is final." Elder Lyons stated.

"Why not? They steal our food, insult our men, it was more bearable with the Outcasts around." Rothchild stated. "As much as I believe in you, Owyn, these people can not keep taking what little resources we can spare."

Elder Lyons put his hand on his freind's shoulder. "I know, and when Leon returns, he can find them more permanent lodgings. Until then, however, we must endure. Just then Wally Mack, Alphonse Almodavar, and several Citizens and Security Guards entered the Courtyard. Since the destruction of the Vault and Amata joining the Brotherhood the Vault Dwellers had lost hope in her ability to lead. In desperation they turned to Wally, suprisingly, and had begun to side with him.

"Lyons!" Wally yelled. "Your soldiers have been treating my people with hostility and disdain."

_Big words for such a small brain. _Rothchild thought.

"They deserve apologies and tribute."

Lyons smiled. "Your People? I was under the distict impression they were being led by Miss Almodavar."

"They are." Alphonse stated.

"Be real, old man. She's with them, not us. The Vault Dwellers need a real leader." Wally said.

"They have one, Amata." Alphonse stated. Wally took out a pistol and shot Alphonse in the leg. He shreiked in pain. The Brotherhood soldiers in the Courtyard raised weapons.

"Don't be stupid." Alphonse said.

I'll do what I want. Wally cocked his pistol and prepared to execute the Alphonse, only to be stopped by the sound of a sonic boom. Suddenly the Raven flew past and turned around, slowing this time for a landing. Elder Lyons ordered the men not to fire, while Wally and company fled. The ship landed and the hatch on the back opened wide. Sarah ran out of the ship as fast as she could

"Father!" She yelled.

Sarah? Lyons said, baffled.

She ran forward and nearly collapsed where she stood, exhausted.

"Sarah? Whats going on? Where is the rest of the task force?" Elder Lyons asked.

"There fine, we got some unexpected support. It's not them you should be concerned about." Sarah stated.

"Then who..." Lyons looked up at the ship, hearing a screech of pain. John and Amata were holding Leon who had regained conciseness only to endure incredible agony. They moved swiftly down the ramp, all the while Leon's wounds were reopening.

"My god..." Rothchild stated.

"You need to do something, Rothchild." Sarah said, almost begging. "He can't die, not like this."

"I don't know if there is anything I CAN do. The damage is beyond what I have ever seen a man endure. The only thing that can save him... No, I wont do that, not again."

"You don't have a choice." Sarah said.

"Of course I have a..." He was cut off by John cocking his pistol at the back of his head while Amata held Leon.

"No. You really don't." John stated.

"You would really kill me in the saftey of my own home, surrounded by our finest soldiers, and believe you could get out alive?" Rothchild asked.

"Yes. I would. "John said, the determination in his voice sent a shiver up the scribe's spine.

Knowing John wasn't bluffing, Rothchild stood down. "Medical Staff! Prepare Leon for surgery, immeadietly!" He yelled. Two paladins ran out from behind the scribe with a stretcher and moved him into the Citadel, Amata and Sarah tagged close behind. Elder Lyons, stunned by the display, shook his head and looked at John.

"I have never seen someone be able to scare Rothchild into doing what they wanted. Not even myself." Lyons stated. "I suppose I should introduce myself: Elder Owyn Lyons of the Capital Brotherhood of Steel." He put out his hand.

John shook Lyons hand. "John Hollister, Sovereign of the New Vegas Confederacy."

"Interesting. I've heard of New Vegas, l didn't think it was close.

"It's not. It's out west in Nevada." John stated.

"Truly? Then you must have come here for a reason.

"Indeed. It was actually fortunate that we met your daughter and Leon, spared us the trouble of tracking you down."

"Why us?" Lyons asked.

John was hesitant to discuss it with all of the watching eyes, knowing that Supremacy One had spies everywhere. "Let's discuss this later. Currently I think it would be smart to focus on the return of your task force and Leon's survival." John stated, wisely.

Lyons looked at him, curiously. He hesitated to respond. "Agreed." Lyons replied.

"Good. I'll speak to you again in a little while." John walked towards the entrance to the Citadel A-Wing, while Elder Lyons stood in the courtyard, puzzled as to why western forces were here.

* * *

Citadel B-Wing

John walked down the hall towards the Infirmary where Sarah and Amata sat.

Sarah saw him approaching and stood straight up. She walked up to John and puched him to the ground. "Where the hell were you!?" Sarah yelled.

John looked up feeling his jaw. "Speaking with your father."

"No. Back at the Commonwealth, you both went down into that cavern. Yet when it blew up you walk away fine while Leon is left on the brink of death. Now I'll ask again: where the hell were you!?"

"I was in the same place, I watched the explosion destroy the facility, and felt the burn." John stated.

"Then why aren't you wounded? Why aren't you dying? Why the hell aren't you on the table instead of Leon?" Sarah was starting to tear up.

John looked concerned. He hadn't told them about what had been done to him at Big MT or any of his implants. He stood silent for a moment, then replied with suspicion.

"I suspect this is more than just concern for a fellow soldier, Sentinel." John stated. "What does he mean to you?" John asked, using his infamous perception. "Just another soldier? Or something more?"

Sarah threw a blow once more, when John grabbed her fist and crushed it with his bare hand. She grunted, and John looked into her eyes. "Do that again and I will rip your heart out of your chest." John stated, fury in his eyes. "I would never abandon someone to Supremacy One, Freind or Foe."

Sarah retracted her hand and grasped it. It wasn't too badly injured, but the power armor was crushed into dust.

He began to walk away when Amata ran up to him.

"Sarah may be angry with you, but I'm not." Amata stated.

John looked at her. "Does it look like i'm even remotley concerned what you think of me?"

Amata looked at him, knowing he was more about cutting to the chase. "Alright, listen. Supremacy One destroyed my home, Vault 101, and I want payback. At the Commonwealth our squad never saw real action against them, and we still don't have a clue about them. You seem to be the expert on them, I want to know everything." She stated, getting straight to the point.

John shook his head. "Kid, take it from me. Revenge doesn't feel nearly as good as you think it does. It eats at you, tears at you, and if you aren't careful, consumes you." John stated, remembering Ulysses.

Amata didn't seem discouraged. "You won't convince me otherwise. I want Supremacy One, the Faction, and anyone else involved."

John looked at her, his eyes widened. The Faction? He asked.

"Yes... the people that attacked us in the Commonwealth."She said.

John hesitated. He hadn't realized that Case, or Winter, was referring to them specifically. "Then maybe we do have something to discuss." John said. "I need to speak with Lyons about this anyway. Come on." They started walking towards the door as Sarah kept looking onto the infirmary, hoping Leon survives.

* * *

Arriving back in the courtyard, they watched the decent of the Old World Guard Vertibirds. Among them, surprisingly, was Ulysses's Vertibird. Elder Lyons looked around, unknowingly, as the former Enclave deployed around them.

"I assume these are your allies, Hollister?" Lyons asked.

"Yes, this is the Old World Guard, a group designed specifically to counter Supremacy One." John said.

"Have they been succesful?" Lyons asked, concerned.

"Up until recently, Yes." John stated.

Before he could explain a thing to Lyons. Ulysses ran out of the Vertibird, a look of dread on his face.

"John, you need to see this. Now." Ulysses said.

"What?" John asked. Ulysses passed a Holotape to him. He pulled out his pip-boy and placed the holotape in. It scanned it and revealed data. What was on it terrified him.

"No. No. No."He said.

**_Supremacy Project Statistics:_**

**Supremacy One. Status: Active**

**Supremacy Two. Status: Unconfirmed**

**Supremacy Three. Status: Active**

**Supremacy Four. Status: Active**

**Supremacy Five. Status: Active**

**Last Status Update: 12/1/2285**

John froze. He was speechless. He was snapped back when out of the blue, a scream filled with anger rang out. Reaching through the halls of the Citadel and into the courtyard, John recognized it as Leon.

"Oh God." John said as he ran back into the building.

* * *

When he reached the infirmary, he saw Sarah with a laser rifle and looking on in terror.

"Put him down, Now!" Sarah yelled. Suddenly a table was thrown across the room, pinning Sarah to the wall.

"No! Please! AHHHHHHGGGGG!" Rothchild screamed. John turned the corner and saw the enemy attacking Rothchild: Leon. Rothchild's tattered remains lay on the ground, killed with a scalpel and saw. Leon had been augmented, the burned right-side of his face replaced with black titanium alloy, and his right eye with a red sphere, with no iris. His arm had been replaced similarly with a black titanium alloy. John couldn't see them but he knew there were implants on the inside as well.

Leon saw him, and screamed. YOU! YOU DID THIS TO ME! YOU TURNED ME INTO THIS... THIS... THING! He looked down at his arm, and clenched his fist. He looked back at John and said one thing...

I am going to make you suffer, Hollister.


	10. Darkness Falls

Hey, I'm back earlier than usual because now i'm on a roll with this story. I'm finally back in my comfort zone of writing after the Commonwealth (not particularly great with fights) and now i'm getting to the parts that i was especially excited about writing: the true continuation to Fallout: Supremacy One's story. We are approaching the half-way point, people, and you won't want to miss a single word of it.

Time to reply to reviews

Cyberjordan: Yeah, that was a very smart move. Trust me.

Oddliver: that would add dramatic effect...

* * *

Chapter 10

Darkness Falls

Citadel Courtyard 9/2/2286 12:00

Elder Lyons stood like a statue in the courtyard. A sense of uneasiness lingered between them all. Ulysses eyes darted around the courtyard picking out people with guns. Suddenly, Sarah ran out the doors.

"Elder!

"What is it now, Sar..." He was cut off as the wall behind her burst open with John thrown through into the steel frame of the target range. He stood up as Leon walked forward throwing away his tattered Vault suit, revealing the full extent of the augmentations. They rooted into his shoulder and neck, in a similar pattern as a tree rooting into the ground.

Elder Lyons was horrified when he saw Leon, sweat poured down his face, and his heart raced. Amata got up and looked at Leon. Even she was terrified by the sight of what he had become.

John got up off the ground, his mechanical spine undamaged. "Leon! Stand. Down." He stated, aiming his 9mm pistol at Leon.

"You think that will stop me?" Leon scoffed. "I will tear your arms off before you can even shoot me." He declared. Leon threw the scalpel at John with pinpoint percision. John barely dodged in time as his pistol was nailed to the frame by the scalpel. Leon began charging John with his surgical saw. John dodged multiple swing while Brotherhood forces moved to contain Leon.

Star-Paladin, Stand Down! They yelled. Leon ignored them. He punched his mechanized fist into one of the soldier's, killing him instantly. He dispateched another soldier with a good punch to jaw, and shattered another mans legs, with his kicks. Grabbing a Laser Rifle off the ground, he opened fire on John.

John began ducking between the training objects. Avoiding Laser Fire he ducked into cover behind some barrels near the entrance.

"What good does this do you Leon?" John asked, yelling slightly. "I didn't turn you into this."

"No, but you left me to die. You knew you could survive the blast." Leon stated, angrily.

"What the hell are you talking about?" John asked, stalling for time.

"If shooting you in the head won't make you die, what will?"

John realized what he meant, but before he could think on it, Leon picked up the barrel and shattered it on the ground, spilling motor oil all over John. Stepping on John's torso, Leon smiled malevolently, as he aimed his laser rifle at his chest.

"You know something John? This reminds me of something my father once recited. You wouldn't recognize it: I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End..." Leon started.

"...I will give unto him that which is athirst from the fountain of the waters of life freely." John finished. "Revelation 21:6 from the New Testament of the Christian Bible."

Leon hesitated to continue, surprised John knew what it was, but as he did Ulysses shot him in the back with his 12.7mm. Submachine Gun. It didn't damage Leon, but sparks falling off of him ignited the oil. John lit up in a pyre, burning vicously. He didn't scream, he didn't move, he just lay there as his body was chareed to the bone. Leon, horrified at what he did, threw water over the body but was too late. John had been burned to the point where certain mechanical implants were showing, his arms were bone, his face and eyes were gone, and his suit ripped apart.

Leon suddenly fired up again, coming back to reality. He was still angry at the Courier, and now he was angry at himself. The realized what he had done: He had killed the Courier.

He kicked the corpse several times when Sarah walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder. Leon. Stop. It's over. Sarah said. Elder Lyons and Amata nodded. Leon looked over to Ulysses, who didn't look even remotely affected.

"You don't have something to say about him?"

Ulysses sighed. "I think you better take a closer look at the corpse."

Suddenly, they heard a gasp of air from behind them. Turning around Leon saw something he never thought possible: Resurrection. John's charred body got up and started moving, his muscle and skin regenerated as green particles raced across his body. In minutes he was fully moving and alive. John looked at Leon with a smug smile, then roundhouse kicked him across his partly cybernetic jaw.

He looked at Sarah. "You wanted to know how I survived without a scratch? There you go." Leon got up and prepared to punch John. But before he could attack, Ulysses broke up the fight.

I "know you to want to fight to the death, but right now Supremacy One is still out there, they are a more pressing concern. So save your anger for them." Ulysses stated. John calmed down and nodded, while Leon just grunted. Just then a Soldier ran in.

"Elder Lyons!" He yelled. "A badly injured caravan guard just made his way back here, he said they were attacked while guarding precious cargo for us."

"Well? Send him in." Lyons stated.

"We can't. The Vault Dwellers captured him. They are saying he'll be an example."

With that, Leon ran out the door with Amata close behind, leaving the rest of them in the dust.

* * *

The encampment was in an uproar as Wally Mack and all of the Security Guards stood on a makeshift stage. They had beaten the already wounded guard with nightsticks, leaving him hysterical.

"This guard is the prime example of Brotherhood hospitality. Guarding high-tech equipment and not even informing us of its existence." Wally stated acting like they were high and mighty over the Brotherhood. "Well, I say we give them an example of what we can do to people who don't respect us and keep us informed." The crowd cheered on as Leon and Amata approached. Wally looked at them and smiled smugly.

"Well look at this, the Vault runaway and our former overseer. These two are prime examples of treason." Wally continued. "Treason is an ungodly crime needing to be met with the proper punishment. Men!" He yelled. The security guards aimed all of their pistols at Leon and Amata as John turned the corner from the entrance.

Amata looked at all the Vault Dwellers, they each had rabid looks in there eyes, an almost terrifying sense of insanity.

"What has gotten into you all? Amata asked.

Suddenly, John opened fire with his modified .357 revolver, shooting Wally in the head and causing the crowd to disperse in panic. He continued to open fire on the remnants of the crowd.

"What the hell are you doing?" Leon asked.

"Saving your lives." John said, grimly.

"You didn't have to kill him." Amata said.

Actually, I did. John stated, shooting several security guards. He holstered his weapon, and walked up on the stage. Walking towards the Prisoner, he kicked the body of Wally over the edge of the stage. John untied the man and got him up on his feet and then helped him walk off the stage. Moving towards the entrance, Ulysses ran out.

"Need help?" He asked.

"No, but have Medical check the Vault Dwellers." John said. "I have a hunch about them."

"Got it." Ulysses replied.

* * *

After getting him in the Citadel, the guard was placed on a mobile medical cot and asked questions by Elder Lyons, while John and Leon were kept at a safe distance from each other.

Elder Lyons sat on a stool next to the cot, concerned about what had happened to him.

"I'm so sorry this had to happen to you, young man. Tell me: Who attacked the caravan?"

The guards eyes were opened so wide it almost seemed as though he was looking towards the edge of the universe. He occasionally shuddered and shifted, sometimes yelling out insane things.

"I don't... I don't know... they came so fast... three men were dead before we even knew we were under attack..." He rambled.

"What did they look like?" Elder Lyons asked.

"Death... Famine... those hideous things... they slaughtered them like butchers... AAHHHHH! PLEASE! DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME!" He yelled hysterically. The beating that Wally's goons gave him had shattered his already fragile state of mind.

"Calm Down, Boy! No one is going to hurt you anymore."

"NO! NO ONE IS SAFE!" The guard began to go into shock. "THEY RIPPED THROUGH POWER ARMOR WITH THEIR HANDS! LIKE IT WAS PAPER!" His heart rate climbed beyond survivable limits. "THOSE THINGS! THOSE DAMAGED THINGS! I DIDN'T ESCAPE... THEY LET ME GO!"

"Why?" Lyons asked.

"TO GIVE YOU ALL THE MESSAGE!"

"What's the Message?" Lyons asked.

Suddenly, his heart rate dropped, and with his dying breath he said something: "We are coming... We are coming... We... are... coming..." The guards heart stopped and he died right there. Paladin Kodiak walked up behind Lyons.

"Elder... our recovery teams have found the Caravan site. A lot of bodies, not just corpses though, it looks like something... I can't even describe the photos they brought back."

"Who was it? The Faction? Supremacy One? Who!?" Lyons yelled.

"We don't know..." The team brought back the cargo, and this. He handed him a folder.

"What is this?" Lyons asked.

"Open it." Kodiak replied.

Lyons opened the folder and nearly passed out at what he was looking at.

He looked around the courtyard. "John! Leon! Get over here!" The two men were on opposite ends of the courtyard. They began walking towards Lyons, Sarah and Ulysses in tow.

"What is it, Elder?" Leon asked.

"Take a look at this." He handed the file to John and Leon. Leon opened it and looked in. John looked over his shoulder and he felt his heart jump from his chest. Acid and blood made its way to the back of his throat while Leon could barely look at all.

The men had been slaughtered like cattle. Butchered and mutilated, the damage was indescribable. It was animalistic, brutal, and almost devilish. Their was almost nothing left to bury or burn. Leon threw up, not able to contain himself, while John, with his experiences at the Divide, was able to hold it down.

"What was worth all that?" John said.

Lyons nodded at Kodiak, who was bringing in a metal case. John became enraged when he realized what it was: the very same case that was found when Primm burned a year earlier. It was stained with blood and marked with an S1. It wasn't powered this time and John opened it with ease, but as he did an energy sphere flew into the sky. It burst open in the skies realeasing a massive electromagnetic field that raced across the Capital Wasteland. Every light, every radio, every powered device shut down. The Vertibirds, Chimera's, Raven, Energy Weapons, and Power Armor were the only things working.

"What the hell just happened?" John asked.

Leon kneeled down and looked at what was in the case: A lantern shaped device, similar to the one used to destroy Vault 101, but not armed. Below it a note, Leon picked it up and was ready to wreck havoc when he read it:

You know where to find me, Leon.

Allistair Tenpenny.


	11. End of Days

Hello. I can't believe I made it this far. When I started Fallout: Supremacy One it was originally suppose to be a one-part fic. Now it's sequel has in all ways surpassed it. We are at the Half-Way Point, and I will pull out all the stops to make sure the second half of the story holds up.

* * *

Time to reply to reviews, I am really excited for these.

Oddliver: Maybe, Maybe Not. I don't want to spoil the ride.

CyberJordan: Who's to say it's Supremacy One? They are about to have much bigger problems then the Vault Dwellers or Supremacy One.

ejthepinoy: Probably because they have some kind of ancient curse on their families. Leon loses his dad, John gets shot in the head, and they both are attacked by Supremacy One. Funny your review comes in when it does, becuase things are about to go completely wrong...

There's something I have to say. I'm sure some of you have already realized this and I'm happy some haven't yet: Supremacy One are not the main threat in this story. It won't be a secret after this chapter...

* * *

Chapter 11

End of Days

The following morning all power across the wasteland was still down. Three-Dog couldn't broadcast, the Brotherhood couldn't contact it's patrols, the entire wasteland had become isolated. With the revelation of Tenpenny's involvement, the Old World Guard and all available Brotherhood soldiers loaded into the Chimera Tanks and Vertibirds, going on the offensive towards Tenpenny Tower. As the Vertibirds lifted off, so did the Raven, but rather than making a direct run on Tenpenny Tower they landed at Megaton for supplies and to pick up Fawkes.

John and Company stayed on board the Raven, while Leon and Sarah ran down into town.

Fawkes was surprised when he saw Leon exit the craft, especially in the condition he was in. "Leon? What happened to you, my friend?"

"It's a long story Fawkes. Listen, I need your help." Leon stated.

Fawkes didn't mind the cybernetics so much. He had seen far worse. "Gladly, what do you need?"

"Get as much spare Power Armor and Energy Weapons as you can. We're mounting an assault on Tenpenny Tower." Leon said, fire in his eyes.

Fawkes had seen that look before: the same look he gave him when they attacked Adams Air Force Base. "Leon, I don't know whats going on, but I know you. You want revenge. Please, don't let that consume you again." Fawkes asked, always looking out for his freind.

Leon nodded and Fawkes ran into grab the equipment. Sarah looked at him, concerned. "Don't do this to yourself again, Leon."

Leon looked back at her. "Do what?"

"Drop to your enemies level. You remember Cross, don't you? You remember what you did to her?" Sarah asked.

Leon did remember, and he didn't regret it. She had committed a crime on a level that had been achieved by only one man before, and that man had hung himself.

Fawkes opened the door and brought out two crates of weapons and armor.

"Will this be enough?" Fawkes asked.

"Yes." Leon said.

"Good." Fawkes walked up and placed them in the Raven cargo hatch.

"Anything else?" Fawkes asked.

"Actually, I need you too." Leon said, somewhat desperate. "We aren't facing everyday raiders and thieves. They are trained killers, and we need everyone possible."

Fawkes could see he was telling the truth, he did remember watching Vault 101 be destroyed. Despite this he hesitated, unsure of whether or not they could keep Leon's fury under control.

"All right, my friend. You have my support, but know that if you go beyond humane actions, I won't hesitate to strike you down."

"Noted." Leon said, taking his threat with a grain of salt. John then called out.

"If you two are done, we need to get moving. Our forces will reach the tower any minute now." John yelled.

Leon, Fawkes, and Sarah boarded the Raven and took off. Had they looked around the city before leaving, they would have seen a figure in a tattered grey hooded cloak. It watched them leave, then looked to the city.

"I weep for humanity." It stated, knowing what was about to happen.

* * *

The Raven met up with the Old World Guard after they passed Fort Independence. They could see the tower on the horizon, a siege they could tell was expected. Anti-Aircraft guns had been positioned on the tower peaks, while dozens of deployable bunkers were placed on the hill, armed with armor-piercing .50 Caliber turrets.

"Look at that." John said. "I guess were in for an Omaha Beach after all."

"Omaha Beach?" Sarah asked.

"A beach in Normandy, France." John said. "It was one of the staging points for the D-Day Invasion during World War II. The allies had bombed the coastline expecting to have destroyed pillboxes and bunkers across the barrier separating Europe from the rest of the world. The Allies succeeded in that action on every beach, some more difficult then others, except Omaha. It sustained no damage, and the sand was stained red from all the men they lost before they finally seized the beach from the Axis."

"So, you're saying it's suicide?" Leon asked, agitated.

"No, not at all. I'm saying its fortified and going to be slightly difficult to take back." John replied.

"Great." Leon groaned.

John walked up to the command console, and activated the communicator. "This is John Hollister: Engage all hostile forces, take no prisoners. Find Tenpenny and keep him alive for interrogation."

With that order the Chimeras on the ground opened fire with heavy cannons, destroying several bunkers. Vertibirds moved to control the skies, firing gatling lasers at heavily armed guards on the balcony of the tower. Anti-Aircraft fire shot down three vertibirds, while incoming rounds from the bunkers were cutting down advancing ground forces. The Vertibirds launched White Phosphorus filled explosives, brutally killing and murdering the soldiers on the balcony. Some of the rounds breached the tower windows and killed dozens of innocent people. Two more Vertibirds went down as the Raven flew in for its own attack run, firing a corrosion missile at the AA Guns. The guns melted away as the acidic compound made its way through the roof top before dispersing into harmless vapor. The vertibirds now had a more effective range and began closing in on ground bunkers. Bombarding the bunkers with White Phosphorus and Gatling Laser fire, it was devastating enemy forces on the surface, but little to no casualties were endured inside the bunkers, which were still pushing back the Chimera Tanks.

"The Calvary is here." Kodiak stated over the radio. Suddenly, three Brotherhood Vertibirds flew over head as the ground forces felt massive tremors. The Brotherhood soldiers smiled and the Old World Guard stood in awe: Liberty Prime had arrived.

COMMUNISM DETECTED ON AMERICAN SOIL! ERADICATE! Liberty Prime exclaimed out to the world. It opened fire on the bunker, only to achieve similar results to the Chimera Tanks. COMMUNIST ARMOR HOLDING, EXECUTING ALTERNATIVE STRATEGY! Suddenly Liberty Prime pulled one of its bombs off of its back, throwing it a good sixty yards. Upon impact ten of the bunkers were destroyed. The rest began a full-scale retreat.

"Wow...Just Wow..." John said, impressed at the raw strength of the machine. Put us down. "It's time to talk to Mr. Tenpenny." John motioned to Ulysses. The Raven sat down and the heroes set foot on the ground, ready to wage war.

* * *

Tenpenny's forces were being wiped out. None of the retreating men made it back alive, the Brotherhood saw to that. There Laser Rifles tore through the retreating soldiers, while Liberty Prime smashed through the remaining bunkers and turrets. Leon and John blew the entrance to the tower, and with a combined V.A.T.S attack, killed ten guards in twenty seconds flat. Leon ran for the door kicking it in with incredible force, while John grabbed an Assault Rifle off of the ground and followed him in.

Security Chief Gustavo stood at the desk and tried to fire at Leon, but he dodged the incoming bullet fire, jumping upward on the wall running across it with incredible speed. He jumped off the wall, and ramed Gustavo. He picked up the Security Chief by the neck with ferocious strength.

"If your the best Tenpenny has, I pity him." Leon said, crushing the Security Chiefs neck. John killed several guards and ran up to Leon.

"Was that really necessary?" John asked firing at incoming guards as they made their way to the elevator.

"Yes." Leon said, smashing the button on the elevator door. He grabbed a .32 Revolver and opened fire, successfully killing three other guards with headshots.

The elevator opened and Leon and John went in as Ulysses, Sarah, and a platoon of soldiers broke through the lobby and started taking down the survivors. The elevator lifted up and Leon and John reloaded their weapons.

"What should we expect?" John asked, concerned.

Leon looked at his revolver and looked back at John. He activated a new feature linked to his pip-boy from his mechanical eye: Infared Mapping. Searching the top floor, he came back with results. "One-Guard, Six Armed Civilians. Tenpenny is in the first room to the left with his advisor, Mister Burke." Leon stated with machine-like efficency.

The door opened and they walked out. the single guard jumped out from behind cover. "HALT!" He yelled. John shot him in the head and let his blood stain the floor. They walked forward and took cover next to Tenpenny's room. Leon counted down with his fingers. 3. 2. 1. He clenched his fist and they kicked in Tenpenny's door.

"Alright Tenpenny. Come out! Your security is dead, nothing is left to protect you now!" Leon yelled.

Mister Burke jumped out instead. "That's where your wrong, Stinger." He said, pulling out a Plasma Pistol. Before he could shoot it, John disarmed him. Leon then shot him in the chest multiple times. He walked up to the man and aimed the .32 revolver at his head.

"Time to die, you sick bastard." Leon pulled the trigger and watched Mister Burke die slowly as the bullet traveled through his neck and out his back.

Tenpenny walked out from the shadows and looked at Burke. "You disappoint me, I would have expected you to live more than twelve seconds. Oh well, you have already outlived your usefulness." Tenpenny stated, coldly, as he watched Burke die. He looked up at John and Leon. "I suppose this is the part where I attempt to escape in one final blaze of glory, screaming a cliche like: You'll never take me alive!" Tenpenny said, almost emotionlessly.

"You're wrong." Leon said, shooting Tenpenny in the leg. "This is the part where I torture you until you either tell me everything you know and die or don't tell me and die."

"We aren't animals." John said. "It's a simple interrogation not torture."

"Who has time for questioning?" Leon replied. "Leave two shots in his chest and let him bleed." Leon said, a devilish smile on his face.

John aimed the assault rifle at Leon. "Let him speak. I have something in mind if he doesn't. It will give you more satisfaction than just shooting him." John said. Leon looked at him, his mechanical eye darting left to right.

"All right, live up to that promise." Leon replied, spitefully.

Tenpenny looked at John. "It's good to see some form of civilized behavior left in the world." Tenpenny put out his hand. John coldly looked into Tenpenny's eyes.

"We aren't freinds, Tenpenny. You killed several of my freinds and allies and are conspiring with Supremacy One, sworn enemies of the New Vegas Confederacy."

"Touchy. I'm sorry to tell you, I haven't heard of Supremacy One." Tenpenny said.

"You have to be kidding me." Leon said. "We found a letter from you in a Supremacy One bomb case. It even had an inert bomb in it."

"Bomb case? What are you talking about?" Tenpenny asked.

"Stop playing dumb, it won't do you any good." John said. "We saw the bunkers and AA Guns, they were killing our people."

"Yes, I had those installed weeks ago. A person in a suit warned me of aggressive actions by the Outcasts against the tower. I did nothing to provoke retaliatory action by the Brotherhood of Steel." Tenpenny said.

"What kind of person?"

"Tall, Slim, Blue eyes, Deadpan look on his face. Wearing a clean White Suit with a crimson tie. Two body guards, Power-Armored, Strange looking weapons." Tenpenny's description brought up a familiar image.

"Did the guards look like Enclave soldiers?" John asked.

"No. They were wearing strange power armor, looked like walking tanks." Tenpenny said.

Leon looked at John. "The Faction." Leon stated. John's perception skills were sharp as ever and he noticed slight twitches in Tenpenny's wrinkled face.

"They asked you for something, what was it?" John asked.

Tenpenny, now knowing that he couldn't lie anymore, spoke up. "In exchange for the defensive information, they asked for the location of a massive cache of weapons."

"Why?" John asked.

"I would assume to use them, seeing that the cache of weapons is fifty Nuclear Warheads."

The anger drained from Leon's face, a cold rush of fear took it's place. "Fort Constantine. That's the only place they could be."

"Let's move before they get there chance." John said. John pulled out his Pip-Boy while Leon puched Tenpenny into the wall. "This is John Hollister, We have what we need. All forces begin making a push to Fort Constantine. The Brotherhood has the coordinates." John closed his communicator. "Come on, we're done here." John started to walk away, but Leon was locked where he stood.

"That's it? Get what you want and leave?" Leon asked, ready to kill.

John looked at him. "No, but we may want to deal with the slight problem of the Faction having enough bombs to destroy what's left of civilization."

Leon, while angry, did know that was the immediate problem. Before he left, however, Leon shot Tenpenny in the stomach. John didn't comment, he just kept walking. Tenpenny watched them leave as he began to die.

John and Leon walked out onto the ruins of the balcony as the Raven decended. Ulysses, Sarah, and Veronica stood inside the ship.

"Good to see you two aren't dead." Veronica said, happily.

John and Leon boarded the small craft. "I'll be happy if we live past the hour." John said.

"I'll be glad if Tenpenny doesn't." Leon replied, coldly.

Sarah looked at him. "He's not dead now?"

"No." Leon stated, pointing at John. "Mr. Vegas, here let the man go." Sarah turned and looked at John who was pulling out some type of pistol from a case nearby.

"He disables the Capital Wasteland, kills our men, and you let him go!?" Sarah asked, furious.

"Not even remotely." John said, aiming his pistol out the hatch.

Leon looked out the hatch and back at John. They were circling the tower while the rest of their forces were already gone. "What are you doing?" Leon asked.

"Which woud you rather? Tenpenny dies? Or his legacy and empire are reduced to dust with him?" John asked.

Leon saw three massive lights rotate around the tower meeting at the dead center of the structure. Suddenly, a huge burst of blue energy came crashing down from the heavens, tearing through the structure of the tower. Everyone inside felt the light of ARCHIMEDES II for moments before disintegrating. Lives that once stood as beacons of avarice and a lust for power disappearing as the Courier's wrath was unleashed. The beam stopped after a few seconds and Leon watched the tower collapse to the ground. Despite resenting John, he gave a nod in approval to the Courier, now knowing that John knew when vengeance was due.

* * *

As they continued to fly towards Fort Constantine, tension was high. The knowledge that the Faction, Supremacy One, or anyone had control of the force that ended the world opened ancient wounds. It was going to get worse as the situation escalated.

The Raven was flying high above the wasteland. Ulysses was in the cockpit, Veronica was sleeping and Sarah was readying herself. Leon was co-pilot while John was checking in with the task force.

"Let me ask you something." Leon said, gesturing to Ulysses.

"Seeing as though you are going to ask regardless, go for it." Ulysses replied, unintrested.

Leon rolled his eyes then continued. "What is Supremacy One?"

Now Ulysses was intrested. "I wish I could actually answer you." Ulysses stated. "We only encountered them last year, and their version of contact was setting the Mojave on fire, releasing an air-borne plague, slaughtering several hundred people in what could have been a massacre of thousands. It led me and him on a journey that resulted in us uniting with the Enclave, launching a suicide mission and..."

"What was that about the Enclave?" Leon asked, his oldest wound reopened.

"We encountered them in Chicago, they were armed for a war with Supremacy One. Their command was slaughtered and I was left in charge. Since then they've been reformed, the majority of them became the Old World Guard." Ulysses said, somewhat unsure of the anger Leon held.

Leon's eyes burned with a raging fire. He got up out of his seat and began walking over to John.

John was on a Comm. Channel with India Company and Elder Lyons.

"How the hell did you let this happen!?" Amata yelled.

"Our guards are dead, and there are signs of struggle." Elder Lyons said. "I don't think they let it happen."

"Either way, It's bad. One-hundred sixty people don't just vanish." John said. Leon walked up to John and knocked him to the floor in sight of Lyons and Amata.

"I thought we were past this." John said.

"Indeed. Explain, Leon." Elder Lyons demanded.

"Our newfound allies, more specifically the Old World Guard, is what's left of the former Enclave.'

Elder Lyons looked at him. "Interesting. As problematic as that is we have a bigger problem."

"Yes we do." Amata said, urgently. "Leon, the Vault Dwellers, my family, are all gone".

"What do you mean, gone?" Leon asked, still ripe with anger.

"I mean gone!" Amata yelled. "They've vanished into thin air."

Leon looked at John and back at the screen. "Do you have any clues?"

"No. They just disappeared. Two guards are dead, our only witnesses. There isn't even a single finger-print." Elder Lyons stated. "We are just hoping that you find answers at Fort Constantine." The Comm. Channel cut out, the very little amounts of power they had left draining away.

Leon looked at John. "This isn't over, Hollister."

"I'm counting on it." John said, jumping to his feet.

* * *

Fort Constantine 11:56

The Raven arrived about the same time as the rest of the task force. Without hesitation, Leon and John jumped out of the Raven. Leon ran over to India Company where Amata stood waiting to charge, while John met up with their forces as they prepared to assault the fortress.

"Are you ready?" Leon asked.

"I was ready in the Commonwealth, and we managed to take down several of Tenpenny's men. I'm not afraid of the Faction or Supremacy One." Amata said, ready for action.

Before Leon could reply, John called over the radio. "We move in thirty seconds." Leon moved to Alpha Strike, a team consisting of himself, Sarah, Ulysses, Veronica, and John.

He propped himself up to the wall of the main entrance to Armory. John stood on the opposite side of the door.

"Three... Two... One..." John smashed the door opened. "GO! GO! GO!" Every soldier moved into the fort. They moved like the wind, rushing through every entrance. As they did, however, they realized something: the base was empty. As John and Leon made their way to Bomb Storage, no soldiers made their way to them. Nothing did. It was empty.

"Where the hell are they?" Leon asked, half-expecting lasers to fly at him.

"I don't know." John replied. They reached Bomb Storage, along with the other teams. Upon entrance, their fears had been realized: the bombs were gone. the room was empty. Three more teams arrived, including India Company.

"Anything?" Leon asked. Cash took off his helmet.

"No, It's empty. The Faction's not here, neither is Supremacy One." Cash said.

John looked around while Sarah, Ulysses, and Veronica did the same. John looked to the back of the room and saw something mounted on the wall.

"Leon! Come see this." John yelled.

Leon walked over to him. "What?" Leon asked. John nodded towards a map mounted on the wall. It had at least thirty marks on it, with a screen nearby. The screen had a countdown with white numbers on it. They read: 0:59. Leon looked at the countdown and then looked back at the map. The marks were scattered across the Capital Wasteland, as well as other locations across the north-eastern United States. At the bottom of the map something was seemingly cut into the papyrus: They'll all die for you. Leon and John suddenly recognized what this was: Targets. Leon ran out the door, John in close pursuit.

* * *

They ran out on the surface, only to watch failure stare them in the face. On the horizon, massive bursts of energy surrounded the fortress. The D.C ruins completely evaporated, as the wasteland around them burned as Mushroom Couds of molten ash rose from the ground. Destructive bursts obliterated most of the wasteland, town after town, camp after camp, gone in the blink of an eye; an echo of the Mojave Attacks.

John stood frozen like a statue as he felt dozens of shockwaves smashing into him. Tears poured from his face as he watched the fires of armageddon scar the earth.

Leon fell to his knees and screamed to the heavens as clouds of dust consumed the fortress.


	12. The Grim Reaper's Reckoning

I am glad everyone enjoyed the last chapter, I actually expected some mean feedback for destroying Fallout 3's world. Anyway, I'm starting to get a schedule worked out for when i release chapters. This is roughly how it should work:

Fallout: The Price of Defiance: Once or twice a week (No specific day or time)

Fallout: Resolution: First week and Third week of every month

Speaking of that, I've started off a second story, Fallout: Resolution. It would be nice to hear somemore feedback on it. Take a look at it and tell me what you think.

* * *

Time for more replies

Oddliver: Indeed. They are going to need a lot of help to fight what's coming. Also in response to the side comment, I absolutely love ARCHIMEDES II. The only problem I had with it was that there was a glitch where it would never fire and instead the targeter would appear where ever I looked, weapon or not.

CyberJordan: They really can't and probably never will. By the way, I took some inspiration for a character introduced here from Tides of Change. Hope you don't mind.

ejthepinoy: Not bad. Your not far off with the Utopia idea. I'm glad someone remembered that was what Supremacy One's goal is. I didn't think anyone did. Thanks

Nukeman: Yes it does, but New Vegas still exists.

* * *

Chapter 12

The Grim Reaper's Reckoning

Leon stood over the ashes of what was once Project Purity. The site was destroyed, the memorial practically demolished. The roof was disintegrated, the inside littered with charred corpses, and destroyed rooms. One week had passed since the Faction's bombingand things were out of control. Every major settlement was completely destroyed, survivors made there way to Evacuation Zones established across the Wasteland. It was certain they couldn't stay. The scraps of resources left behind by the blast were far too little. Worse, the bombs had released some type of chemical into the Potomac. The water had become black, and anyone who drank it melted from the inside out. Even touching it caused your hands to liquify.

John had called for reinforcements and evacuation craft to get civilians out of the Capital in a mass exodus. They sent patrols to any other major locations on the bombing map to find out what was left of them. Leon didn't have much hope.

Leon pulled a partly burned photograph out of his pocket. The photo was of his father and mother, he had found it in Project Purity years earlier while looking through the basement of the memorial. It was sentimental to him, seeing they were both dead. Tears rolled to his eye left eye, while blood poured out of his cybernetic right eye. as he looked down at the photo.

"I'm sorry father. I failed you. All you lived and died for is gone." Leon cried.

Leon stopped crying when he heard the sound of a Chimera. Leon jolted back around to see it roll up. The cockpit opened up and John jumped out.

"Anything good to report?" Leon asked.

John couldn't even speak. His face was filled with grimace and pain.

"I didn't think there would be." Leon said. "Where's Sarah? I thought she was coming with you." Leon asked.

John finally spoke. "She took a different tank. Her and some other Soldiers went to pay respects to the Brotherhood." He said, troubled.

Leon looked at him. "Something else wrong?" Leon asked, his anger for John gone with the rest of the Capital Wasteland.

John hesitated then spoke. "Reinforcements are still a few days out. Our scout forces have reported back... Its not good." He pulled out his Pip-Boy. "The Pitt has been obliterated, what little survivors are left have become Trogs or Mutants, they put them out of their misery before it got out of control." John said, sadly.

"Anything else?" Leon asked, thinking of Marie Ashur.

"Where does it end would be more appropriate." John said. "Point Lookout, Ronto, Erie Stretch, the entire northeast has been attacked. Some worse than others but across the board the dead outweigh the survivors. The Faction must have been planning this for months." John's hatred for them and Supremacy One was surfacing.

Leon finally had to ask. "What was our total number of casualties?" Leon asked, fearing the answer. "Across the board." Leon added.

"Well... When we we were just looking at the Capital Wasteland we were looking at nine hundred, maybe one-thousand." Just those numbers made Leon shiver. "Now, factoring in all the reported attacks sites... Ten-thousand. Maybe more." John said, bleakly.

_Ten thousand? All those lives... For what!? _Leon thought, angry.

Suddenly, the Chimera's radio lit up and John raced to answer it. Leon phased out the noise from the Chimera and just kept looking at the destroyed Project Purity.

_The Faction will pay for this. All of it. _Leon thought.

"Leon!" John yelled. Leon turned back around. "One of our patrols is reporting they are under attack near Fort Independence. I'm going to give them support. Are you coming?" John asked. Leon stood silently for a moment.

"Yes. Just give me a second." Leon let go of the photo of his parents. He watched it fly on the winds as it flew across the Capital free as a bird. Leon didn't wait any longer. He jumped in the tank with John. As they drove away, however, something caught the photo and began to follow them.

* * *

When they reached the patrol coordinates, the hill overlooking Fort Independence, they found nothing but the dismembered remains of the patrol. Ripped up by unknown means, they decided to investigate.

"It doesn't look like it was done with explosives or melee weapons." John declared. "It's too clean for an explosive."

"But not clean enough for a knife or sword." Leon added. Both of them had a vast reserve of knowledge of medicine, science, and pretty much everything else.

"Surgical Laser?" John suggested.

"No. Surgical Lasers require quite a bit of power. Not something you could fire with Microfusion Cells. No, you would need Fusion Batteries." Leon replied. "Whoever did this used a weapon that could not only cut through something but shred it as well."

John looked around and then realized something. "Leon, look at this." John said, pointing at the ground.

"What?" Leon asked. Then he saw what he was pointing at: a fresh footprint. There wasn't any others but they saw the direction the killers had left in: down the hill towards the Fort.

John grabbed out his binoculars. "Let's see where your hiding." John said. It took him only moments of scanning to find the men responsible.

"Leon..." He said handing him the binoculars. "...you wanted payback. Now you can have it." Leon saw the killers: Six Faction soldiers, led by Winter.

"Finally." Leon said.

"You can take them on down there. I'll be montioring the situation up here with an Anti-Material Rifle." John said.

"Agreed." Leon said. He began moving down the hill while John set up his GRA Anti-Material Rifle.

* * *

Winter and her soldiers continued to move, unaware of the presence of the Lone Wanderer and Courier.

"Ma'am, the datachip signal went off the grid thirty-six hours ago. I highly doubt it's still here." One of the soldiers said.

Winter turned around and pulled out two proton throwing axes she used at close range combat. "Speak to me again, and I will cut your head off. You better hope it is here or we all risk angering the Siren." Winter said.

"I think you should be a little bit more concerned with angering me." Leon said. Winter turned to see the Lone Wanderer, and was quickly surprised by the cybernetics and augmentations.

"Well, well, well. I'm surprised at your ability to survive. Not just the Commonwealth, but our attacks." Winter stated. "I'm going to enjoy killing you slowly." She continued, sadistically.

"You won't get that chance." A mysterious voice called. Winter looked around for the source of the voice, but saw nothing. Leon did the same but with thermal imaging he noticed things others didn't. Suddenly, a figure decloaked behind one of the Faction soldiers and stabbed him through the chest with some type of sword. Two of the other soldiers moved to stop the figure but it dispatched them in similar fashion. The blade resembled a medieval long sword, but was powered and functioned like a Protonic Inversal Axe. Three other soldiers opened fire, but the figure dodged every shot. It jumped up and threw several Protonic Inversal Throwing Knifes. They hit the soldiers and disintegrated them in a purple flame.

"Leon! What the hell is going on down there!?" John yelled over the radio.

"Get down here. Now." Leon said, frightened. He had gotten a good look at the figure. It was wearing a tattered grey cloak with a black steel mask, a visor going across the eyes, and a steel plate over the mouth.

"Who is that!?" John yelled.

Winter ran at the figure with the axes. The figure blocked with the sword. "You think you can win?" Winter taunted. Suddenly, the figure shattered the axes with the long sword. Winter fell backwards and the figure ran forward with the sword, thrusting it through Winter's heart. As blue oil-like blood made its way out of Winter's mouth. "Who... Who... Are... You..?" Winter asked, dying.

"The Grim Reaper." It said. It retracted the sword out of her chest, then swung around and beheaded her.

Leon looked at the figure for a minute. Suddenly, out of the blue it jumped forward grabbing him by the throat. "Who are you?" It asked. The Grim Reaper, as it called itself, spoke with a voice filter. "Tell me!" It exclaimed.

"I'm not... your enemy..." Leon said, choking.

"That remains to be seen. The Faction knew you. How?" It continued to ask

Leon looked to the corner of his eyes and smiled. "I'm... I'm not... the one you should be worried about." Leon smirked. The Grim Reaper suddenly felt its jaw get hit with extreme force. The Grim Reaper went flying, dropping Leon. John was the one who smashed the Grim Reaper. It got up and drew its sword, but John kicked it out of the Reaper's hand. John began attacking with a straight blow to the chest, then continued with a vicous barrage of punches, and ended with a kick to the head. Knocking the mask off, he saw under the hood.

There was a woman's face under the mask, young, about his age. She had a polar white Fallen Angel hairstyle, pale skin, and emerald eyes. She looked at him about to strike back. Then stopped. Hesitantly, she looked into his eyes.

Suddenly, John grabbed his head, a massive migraine comparable to an aneurism occured. He saw images pass by his eye: a memory flash was occuring.

He saw two children, himself and another child, running through a field, playing together with toy swords. A third child sitting with them on a bench. An older man dying of several bullet wounds in front of the now older two children. An image of himself holding a Broken Brotherhood Helmet and lastly, a voice mumbling in the distance as a house burned down in front of him.

The flash ended with Leon looking over him. John had fallen to the ground during the flash.

"Easy there." Leon said.

"Where did she go?" John asked, not concerned with his own safety.

"She ran. Picked up her mask, cloaked and vanished." Leon explained. "Did you know her?" Leon asked.

"I don't think I know myself anymore."


	13. The Lesser of Two Evils

Hello. Short Chapter. Please R&R. Nothing else to say.

* * *

Time to Reply.

CyberJordan: While Reaper is related to him in several ways, I can't say if that is one of them. As for those who stand in the Faction's way... God help them indeed

Oddliver: Thank you for all of that. As far as the glitch, I had the opposite problem. It only happened in the Mojave Wasteland.

jake111: Thanks, glad you're enjoying it.

* * *

Chapter 13

The Lesser of Two Evils

The darkened halls of the Faction's command center were silent, no soldier roamed, no officers worked, only silence lived in those halls. Surveillance Drones monitored the halls and through the lenses of the drones two soldiers carrying a shadowed figure through the halls. They entered a pitch-black room, where only one light was lit in the center of the room. It's glow was as bright as a star and they placed the figure down on the surgical chair beneath the light.

"You have disappointed me." An ominous voice said.

They took the executioners cowl off of the figure, revealing the face of Scribe Vallincourt. "I did everything you asked." She said, crying and panicked. "I betrayed my brothers and sisters. Gave you Fort Constantine. Started tensions between the Outcasts. Sabotaged Liberty Prime. I even supplied the Vault Dwellers with the bombs to carry out the attack. Hell, I even brought them to you!" She yelled.

The two soldiers left the room.

"Yes, you did bring the Vault Dwellers here. They will play there part soon enough. The Voice continued. But you failed to kill Leon Stinger, and now the New Vegas Confederacy, the one group that has ever survived Supremacy One, has become involved. More than that, Winter is dead and an S2 Data-chip fell into the hands of the enemy. Those crimes are intolerable."

The Voice became louder, but then dropped to a softer tone. "I won't kill you. You have proven to be worth keeping." Vallincourt started to breath again only to look up as four mechanical cables began to decend from behind the light. One had a syringe filled with a silver liquid with small blue lights running around it, another had a Precision Plasma Beam, the third had a set of surgical tools, while the last had a simple claw on it.

Vallincourt struggled to get free. "You said..!"

"I said YOU were worth keeping. Not your mind or anything else." It said, sadistically.

All Vallincourt could do was scream as the laser dug into her skull.

* * *

Leon and John were en route back to Redemption, a Brotherhood fallback base at the ruins of a town called Bethesda. With the Citadel gone, Elder Lyons dead, and no immediate command staff still alive, Sarah Lyons was forced to uphold the mantle of Elder, while still leading on the battlefield.

"This is Chimera-Six." John said, over the radio. "We are approaching Redemption now. Requesting permission to enter."

"This is Redemption Control, You are clear to enter. Good to hear your voice John." Veronica said over the radio.

"Good to hear from you too." John said. Leon then pulled out his radio.

"This is Leon Stinger. Is Sarah back?" Leon asked over the radio.

"Yes and something seems to have set her off, so watch yourself. Redemption out." Veronica replied.

"Something always does." Leon said.

The Chimera made it's way into a makeshift garage. The two men jumped out of the tank and exited the garage. Redemption wasn't massive but it was big enough, there were camps placed all around the area. It was one of the few spots not destroyed by the bombings. The main building was being repaired by the Brotherhood to act as there center of operations for when evacuation arrived. Soldiers patrolled the perimeter for incoming refugees, and prepared to shoot anything else.

As Leon and John began making there way towards the main building, Knight Captain Dusk made her way over to the two of them.

"Thank god you guys are back." Dusk said, somewhat panicked.

Leon noticed that very fact. "What's going on Dusk?" Leon asked, concerned.

She began slowly calming down. "We... We have several visitors." Dusk said.

* * *

"They showed up this morning, demanding an audience with Sarah." Dusk said, as they walked through the halls of the main building. "We didn't know what was going on when they showed up. If it was an attack or an attempt to take hostages. What it turned out to be..."

"You still haven't told us who the hell you're talking about." John said.

"It might just be easier to show you." Dusk said, opening the door to the command center, a room that pretty much looked like the Council Room from the Citadel. John and Leon walked in to see Sarah, now dressed in Elder Robes.

"Explain to me why the hell I shouldn't rip your head off, you sick deranged lunatic." Sarah threatened.

"Because we have the leverage to get you back in the fight." An unseen man said.

"Sarah, what is..." Leon tried to start but then they saw who she was talking too: a Supremacy One Agent, with two guards.

John and Leon both raised there weapons. The agent simply smiled.

"Ah, Mr. Stinger. I was wondering when you would appear, and I see Mr. Hollister is with you, good. Allow me to introduce myself: Inquisitor Jeffrey Fontaine of Supremacy Three."

John raised an eyebrow. "Supremacy Three?"

"A separate group from our allies in Supremacy One." Fontaine said. "While we pursue separate operations, we do work towards a common goal..."

"Utopia." John finished before Fontaine could.

"Exactly. Do you know what kind of Utopia?" Fontaine asked.

John shook his head and cocked his gun same as Leon.

"A Utopia free of the horrors of the wasteland and the Pre-War World. A brave new world where there is no more crime, poverty, destruction, and most importantly: no more war."

"War doesn't change." Leon said, boldly.

John nodded in agreement, but Fontaine shook his head. "I'm not talking about changing war, I'm talking about changing mankind itself." Fontaine said. "Orion can lead us into that future, but the Faction lies in our way." Fontaine spoke with disdain. "We can give you the technology to destroy them."

"Don't do it, John!" A familiar voice yelled. John turned around to see the Grim Reaper decloak. "Their technology will destroy you." She said

Fontaine looked on with anger. "You! I should have known."

Despite not trusting the Grim Reaper, John and Leon knew what had to be done. They turned around and activated V.A.T.S. Locking on, they opened fire on Fontaine. His body crumpled to the ground as Reaper killed his guards.

Reaper walked over to him. "Are you all right?" She asked.

John looked at her. "I'm fine." He said, looking at her face. "Who are you? How do you know me?" John asked.

Reaper's expression turned to horror. "You... You don't remember me?" Reaper said, scared.

"No. I'm sorry." John said.

Reaper hesitated to speak. "I... It doesn't matter at this point." Reaper said, a single tear rolling to her eyes. "What does matter is the war that is raging. As long as the Faction exists the world is in danger."

"Yeah, we caught on to that a long time ago." Leon said.

"You don't understand, they are worse than you can ever imagine. The devastation they have unleashed here is just a taste of what is coming." She handed John a small chip. "That will lead you to them and perhaps win you the war. Good luck."

He looked down for a moment then looked back up to find she had vanished. No one saw her cloak she simply vanished.

"Sarah, can you decipher this?" John asked.

"Yes. Just give me a moment." Sarah took the chip and placed it in the Hologram Table. It turned on and began scanning the country.

"It's a set of coordinates." Sarah said.

"Leading where?" Leon asked.

The map gave the answer: it closed in on the New-England region, going slightly north of the Capital Wasteland. It suddenly went east and closed in on the Faction's base. No one could believe it, they were that close...

Liberty Island, New York City


	14. Exodus from the Capital Wasteland

Hello everyone. I'm getting back in the habbit of updating very often, which means, if this continues, this will be done by mid-october. Yes, we're that close.

I don't have anything to reply to this time. So here you go!

* * *

Chapter 14

Exodus from the Capital Wasteland

After waiting for several days, several dozen aircraft entered the Capital Wasteland. Two dozen landed at the other camps and refugee centers in the Capital and its neighboring settlements that were attacked. Another six dozen, only four of which were Vertibirds, approached Redemption. A makeshift airfield had been created for the rest to land. The Boomers had spent the last few years, even before Supremacy One, repairing the ancient planes scattered around the Mojave. The B-29 Super-Fortress approached the landing strip, guarded by several wings of Warhawk Attack Fighters. Military Transport planes, once located at Camp McCarran, made their way down next supported by several Avenger Torpedo Bombers, redesigned to fire a single missile. continuously, more planes landed on the airfield, while Leon and John watched them deploy what they were carrying.

Several Vehicles, including SAM Launchers and APC's rolled off of the Cargo Planes, supported by Sand Marines, each equipped with GRA Battle Rifles and 12.7mm pistols, as well as certain other weapons for each of their specializations within a unit. The B-29 Super-Fortress was loaded with artillery and bombs, including a new chemical weapon the Think Tank had developed from the Sierra Madre Cloud. Several Crates and Cages loaded off of the Cargo Planes, loaded with Robo-Scorpions and Cyber-Hound Packs, with Rex and Roxie running off of the planes over to John, as well as several unexpected visitors.

"Follows-Chalk? What are you doing out here?" John asked. The Tribal walked over to him, along with several Dead Horses and Sorrows. He hadn't seen him since the destruction of the White-Legs at Zion, where Joshua Graham and himself ruthlessly slaughtered them.

"I heard about the attacks from Joshua and asked him if you needed help." He said, in his tribal accent. "When you called in for reinforcements, several Dead-Horses and Sorrows volunteered to join. Walking-Cloud and Daniel also came, they should be coming of that metal beast anytime now."

"Metal Beast?" Leon asked. "You mean the plane?"

"Call it what you like, but I felt like I was a man about to be devoured by a Yao-Guai." Follows-Chalk said, somewhat scared.

"I thought we only had Yao-Guai here." Leon said.

Before Follows-Chalk could continue, John spoke to Leon. "Follows-Chalk has never really left his tribe, and the Tribals rarely leave Dead-Horse Point or Zion." John explained. "Don't try to change his way of thinking."

"Fine." Leon said, somewhat agitated.

Follows-Chalk smiled gratefully at John, while Daniel and Walking-Cloud approached. John smiled as they entered the circle.

"Walking-Cloud, good to see you." John said, gentley kissing her hand.

"It's good to see you too, Messiah." She said, smiling. "You shouldn't be so formal in this time of war. Besides, I'm spoken for." She said.

John smiled at the news. "Really? That's great news." John said, happily.

"Yes. It's all peachy." Daniel said.

John's smile died when Daniel spoke. The two had never gotten along since the White-Legs. From what John had heard, Tensions between Daniel and Joshua Graham had gotten worse ever since that day.

"Daniel." John said.

"Messiah-Messenger." Daniel said, addressing him in the title that the Dead Horses and Sorrows had given him. "Don't worry, I'm not joining your army. I came to deliver these." He handed John a loaded pistol and a Mormon Bible. "Joshua said you might need these." Daniel contiued. John looked at the pistol, then realized it was Joshua's Pistol. Light in the Darkness, it read on the side, engraved in golden lettering.

"This may be hard for you to believe but I do support you in this fight." Daniel said. John looked up at him. "This group used biological weapons on New Vegas. Had you not stopped them it may have spread as far north as Zion."

"We're not fighting Supremacy One anymore, Daniel. These people, the Faction, are obsessed with destruction, not conquest." John said.

"I know." Daniel hesitated to speak again. "I leave you with one peace of advice: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the lord your god goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

John recognized the verse. Dueteronomy 31:6. "Thank you." Daniel didn't reply he walked over to the evacuation craft and boarded. John watched at a distance as the evacuation craft began to lift off. For the people aboard those Vertibirds, this was the last goodbye to the Capital Wasteland.

* * *

The following few hours were simple: Prepare for the attack on New York City. With the strike looming on the horizon, it seemed that a dawn was breaking through their never ending night of devastation.

Leon and Sarah stood in the command center, looking over the scans of the city. "All right, it seems like a realtively straight shot." Leon said. "We'll land at Staten Island run our waythrough Brooklyn then up through Manhattan and down to Liberty Harbor. Surround Liberty Island and move in for the kill."

"Easier said then done." Sarah said. The Raven's scanner shows a massive buildup of forces in both Manhatten and Staten."

What about Brooklyn? Leon asked.

Sarah looked at her charts then shook her head in astoundment. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Not even a plant." Sarah said, surprised. "That can't be right."

"Doesn't matter. We can't land there. Too close together." Leon said.

"That doesn't even bother you? An entire island void of life. Not even a plant or a ghoul." Sarah said.

"Not so much as islands loaded to the brim with Faction Soldiers. Especially when they have a weather-control weapon." Leon said.

Sarah had to admit the dangers outweighed the mystery. "Agreed." She said.

"Then it's settled. I'll give the order to prepare to lift off." Leon said. Walking out of the tent, Leon smiled knowing vengeance was within his grasp.

* * *

Within the next few hours, the aircraft reloaded and prepared to lift off as the orders were given.

John, Leon, Sarah, Ulysses, and Veronica as well as the Tribals boarded the Raven. The tribals lay on the beds and rested for the coming battle. Veronica worked on upgrading her power fist with ballistics and other powered upgrades. Ulysses and John were in the cockpit preparing for lift-off. Sarah sat on one of the chairs that rolled out of the wall. Finally, Leon stood in front of the command table, checking up on the air-fleet about to lift off.

John looked at Ulysses. "Are you ready?" John asked.

"I made peace with my demons long ago. I think a more approproate question lies with the Lone Wanderer." Ulysses said, activating the engines on the ship.

John nodded. Leon may have let go of his anger and tensions towards John, but his resentment for the Faction now topped all of his concerns. When the Faction became involved in a situation, he didn't care about anything other than their downfall.

John prepared the engines as thoughts raced for his mind. Something seemed off to him. Supremacy One had tried to destroy him time and time again, but the second the Faction made itself known, Supremacy One was no longer focused on the New Vegas Confederacy. This didn't seem like just another grudge match between old world powers, like the Enclave and the Brotherhood, over Wasteland control. It seemed like more was at stake than just the Mojave or the Capital. Someone, whether that be Orion or the mysterious Siren he had heard Winter mention, was out for blood. He could feel the familar anger and pain of vengeance lingering between Supremacy One and The Faction. How long that had lingered between them, it was impossible to tell.

The other thing that bothered him was Reaper. She showed up, seemingly out of the blue, and within seconds killed several Faction soldiers and Winter. He saw her face and it triggered a scattered memory flash, and she claimed she knew him, even cried when he didn't recognize her. Whoever she was, she was waging a war alone, and John knew that was a bad idea for anyone.

He was so far in thought he had spaced out. He was snapped back to reality by Ulysses. "We need to start the operation, John." Ulysses said.

John shook his head as he came back to reality. "Right... Sorry." John said, grabbing the Communicator.

"This is John Hollister to all forces. Listen up, In the past year a lot of us have seen things we probably would like to forget. The Wraith-Plague, the Spearhead, the Commonwealth, right here and now in the Capital Wasteland. What Supremacy One has unleashed, it goes beyond inhumane. They turned children into killers in New Vegas. Turned ally on ally, freind on freind. Through it all we endured and triumphed. Now we face an enemy that has brutally exterminated an entire wasteland. These maniacs have unleashed hell on the world. It's time they payed for their crimes."

The task force all listened and began to softly cheer.

"We all know a lot of us aren't coming back. We will lose good freinds and make bitter enemies, but now is the time to act. We strike without fear and without mercy. They massacred thousands of innocent people. They are going to answer for it."

The cheer grew louder.

"It's time to bring the war to them."

The cheer burst off. People cried out for action. This was the time to strike.

The fleet lifted off. John and company spearheaded the assault. The sounds of war rang out as the fleet made a one-way shot to New York.

* * *

Brooklyn, New York City

"Keep moving!" A Faction captain yelled. A squad ran through the city armed with their best weapons and they were disappearing by the second. A team that started out with ten, was down to four. The Captain and another soldier turned a street corner only to look back and see the other two soldier's disappear. The two of them stopped a few blocks north.

"Did we lose them?" The soldier asked.

"I don't know. I really don't kno..." The Captain turned to see the man she was speaking to had vanished.

"No. No. You won't take me." She said, panicked. "You hear me? You won't take me!" The Captain turned her back for a second, then looked back to see a creature more horrifying then anything the Great War ever could have created.

She didn't even have time to blink before it tore her in half with its hands.

It stood on the road for a moment then spread blood over the ground to display a message. It read three familiar and terrifying words:

We are Coming.


	15. Frozen Hell

Hello. Just as a heads up this chapter and the next were originally one chapte. But I figured it would be easier to split it into two. I hope you enjoy this first part.

* * *

CyberJordan: They did burn there boats and Orion knew it. You'll find out what that means this chapter. By the way, soon enough the Faction's not going to be the only ones running scared. I hope the intrigue continues.

Oddliver: Good to hear fron you. Can't wait to here you opinion on these upcoming chapters.

dumpsterhobo01: Then after this chapter, I will be at your funeral. The cliffhangers aren't stopping anytime soon.

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Chapter 15

Frozen Hell

Silhouette Board Conference Room

Orion stood in the back of the room. There was a holographic emitter projecting images of the New Vegas airfleet. Orion heard the transporter power up and he looked behind him to see a shadowed woman standing ten feet away.

"I don't remember inviting you in, Siren." Orion said, disdain filling his voice.

The figure, Siren, stood silent, her face hidden in shadow. "I need no invitation. This was once my home." She said.

"Not anymore. You are no longer welcome here." Orion stated.

"And how are you welcome here?" Siren asked.

"I lead Supremacy One, and despite the efforts of you and your Faction that will not change." Orion declared.

Siren looked at the images. "They are your last hope? I pity you Orion. Your allies are poorly armed to fight us." Siren said.

Orion took a sort of enjoyment in what she said. "They aren't my allies. As a matter of fact John Hollister has vowed to destroy me and everything I'm fighting for." Orion said.

Siren was surprised by that. "But Supremacy Three's envoy..." She started.

"Destroyed. As expected." Orion finished. "It made us look desperate in the face of your armies, as though we couldn't defeat you. Thus, making you the priority to the Courier. I myself know this truth. To destroy you and the Faction, all I have to do is watch."

Siren stood in silence for a moment. "I suppose I should have known you had another hidden motive." She said. "I'm surprised, though. The great Orion, defeated by a lonely group of Savages." She stated.

Orion ignored her. "Do not think for a moment you can survive the Courier. Let alone while he is being supported by the Lone Wanderer." Orion advised.

"We will see about that." Siren said. She entered the transporter and vanished in a collumn of light. Orion turned around and continued to monitor the escalating situation. For once he was on the Courier's side.

* * *

New York City Airspace

"Six minutes to Staten Island." Ulysses announced. John signaled the fleet for final preparations on their attack run.

"How is our flight path?" John asked over the intercom.

"Our flight path?" Sarah said, agitated. "Our flight path is flying straight into enemy weapons while under a thick veil of snow and frost."

"So all in all, as good as it gets?" John asked.

"Basically." Sarah replied.

The Raven started thrashing around from unknown conditions. Leon looked at the command table it lit up red with an alert: WARNING. EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS. RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE LANDING.

"Heads up! The Faction have eployed their weapon!" Leon yelled.

"Yeah. No shit." John replied, looking into a blinding blizzard, pelting them with snow and ice. Within seconds their had been a complete white-out and it was thrashing the fleet around like a rag-doll/

"I've got to put her down!" Ulysses yelled. "We're right above Staten Island!"

John grabbed his communicator. "This is the Courier! All forces break away! We're going to land. Hopefully, we can do something about this storm." John put away the communicator and held on as Ulysses flew the craft just below the clouds the storm let up as they got closer to the ground. The Raven landed safely on a street covered in snow. Despite this they took massive damage. Smoke filled the cockpit and rooms were flooded with steam from overheated computer consoles and machinery.

John put on his rebreather, while Leon opened the internal ventilation systems and vented the smoke and steam. They all ran out while it cleared. John turned and looked to the skies. Sadness filled his soul when he saw some of the aircraft failed to get away. Fiery wreckage fell to the surface, planes without their wings crashed into still standing skyscrapers all over the city, and Vertibirds spun out of control and hit the ground like stones. Snow fell through the flames and sparked anger in John. The anger faded as he watched the attack force turn around, the storm not following.

"How much fuel do the planes have left?" John asked. Ulysses was hesitant to reply. Leon looked at the statistics on his cybernetic eye.

"Total of thirty-six hours originally, by now twenty-nine hours of fuel." He said.

John thought on that for a minute and devised a plan. "Then we need to take Staten Island before those planes run out of fuel." Veronica raised an eyebrow, while Sarah shook her head.

"And how do you purprose we do that?" Sarah asked. "Ten on a thousand? They outnumber us on one hundred to one." Sarah said. "Even if we mounted a successful strike, we don't have the resources to take the whole island, not without our fleets."

Ulysses looked back from the falling debris. "The crashes." Ulysses said, with a stroke of brilliance. "There are bound to be survivors and equipment we can salvage. If we recover enough, we probably could take the island and disable the weapon."

John looked at him. "Do we know where the weapon is?" John asked, somewhat skeptical of his own plan.

Veronica spoke up. "Yes. Before we went down I got a fix on the location of the main base on this island. It's in a park near the center of the island."

"I would bet the world on the weapon being there." Leon said.

"What choice do we have?" Ulysses said. "If the fleet doesn't turn around we will lose this battle before it even begins."

Leon had to agree with that. So did Sarah and Veronica. "All right." John said. "Sarah! Grab the power armor from the hatch in the Raven. Veronica! Get all of the weapons and medical equipment we can carry from the Raven's supply cache. Ulysses! Map out the the crash sites. We need to know where we are going. Tribals keep a look out for Faction soldiers." Everyone went to work, except Leon.

"Do you need me for something?" He asked.

"Not this second." John said.

"Alright... I guess I'll help Sarah." Leon said, surprised he wasn't asked for anything.

Leon walked over to Sarah and helped her unload the armor and weapons off and out of the hatch. She looked up at Leon who was visibly upset.

"Something you want to get off your chest?" She asked.

Leon looked back. "No. Just the tension before battle."

"Tell a joke. It's suppose to ease that tension." Sarah suggested.

"Who the hell thought of that?" Leon asked.

"No idea." Sarah replied.

Leon moved the last crate off the storage compartment, then sealed the hatch. They boarded the Raven passing Ulysses as he scanned the island, picking up the locations of downed aircraft. Veronica stood up from one of the rotating beds, handing Sarah the Omega Cannon that Checkmate had seized in Chicago.

"Here, this might do you some good." Veronica said. Sarah looked at the Tesla Cannon sized weapon. It was shaped like a cylinder with an open part on one side and a round back, glowing yellow circuits running through the device, a cyan finish inbetween.

"What does it do?" She asked, aiming it. Veronica pushed the weapon down and Sarah holstered it.

"It fires a highly concentrated beam of energy fired from a Small Fusion Reactor in the back of the weapon. The damage unleashed by the beam of light is a watered down solar eruption." Veronica explained.

Sarah blinked for a moment, before opening her mouth. "What?" She asked.

"Big gun. Big explosion." Leon said, understanding all of it.

"Ah." Sarah said.

Ulysses stood up from the command table. "John! I've got the crash sites." He said. John ran in.

"Where?" John asked.

"The nearest crash site isn't far. Only two hundred yards." Ulysses said. "The others are several miles apart, the second closest is seven blocks away, in one of the parks." Ulysses pulled out several holotapes from the base. He handed one to Leon and John. "Here's my map of the city, it's marked with all the crash sites."

Leon and John activated their Pip-Boy's and saw the maps. Let's move. John said. They grabbed what they could carry and left the Raven. John activated the defense system and cloaking device, as the left the Raven for the frozen streets of New York City.

* * *

Within an hour, they were making progress. The heavy snowfall proved a problem for the group to traverse the already devastated city. What could have been a quick run for the downed plane, turned into a hour-long plow through the snow. As they made their way toward the wreckage, the storm began to lighten up. While this would have been a blessing, John knew it wasn't. It meant the task force had escaped city limits, and now was so far off that they couldn't count on getting the support. A shimmer of hope began to glow when Leon looked in the distance.

John! Leon yelled over the screeching wind of the snowstorm. "I think I see the plane!"

John looked where Leon was looking, and began to make out the wreckage as the storm let up. "Quickly! Move!" John yelled. The team ran through the mounds of snow. Within a few minutes the snow let up and became easy to make out what was going on. When the reached the airplane, they found a horrifying sight. Someone or something, had attacked the crew. there were clear signs that survivors had made it off the plane; a crash couldn't have ripped a man out through the top of his power armor and skinned him. Whatever attacked the surviviors had assaulted them with pure animalistic ferocity. They couldn't even identify the body.

"Look around. There is bound to be something else here." John said. Leon moved toward the back of the plane, while the rest of the team began to move around the upper and middle parts of the military cargo plane. Leon searched the area and stumbled upon what appeared to be two still working Humvees and a Chimera. He jumped down towards the humvee and tried to turn it on, only to have to get out and do some repairs.

Sarah looked at the body they found, then saw something even more disturbing, a trail of black liquid, stained across the snow and streets. She followed the trail and found a glowing object in the snow: a Brotherhood of Steel Holotag, glowing yellow to indicate the soldiers status. She picked it up and was horrified at what it said: Paladin David Cash. 115222. Eastern Chapter. Status: Unknown.

"Leon! Get over here!" Sarah yelled. Leon heard the cry and walked over to the startled Sentinel.

"What is it Sarah?" Leon asked.

Sarah handed him the Holotag. "This plane had India Company on board." Sarah said.

Leon looked down at the trail which basically splattered across the snow not far from where they were standing. He scanned it, coming up with a result that terrified him: Blood. A form of blood which had no oxygen, no cells, but was one-hundred percent toxic with a growing presence of an unknown infection. Grabbing a sample of the infection, he heard Veronica scream.

They ran towards the plane wreckage only to find Veronica being held at knife-point by Sera Keller.

"Ah Lyons. Just in time. Tell me, darling, how do you like your meat? Raw or cooked?" Sera said, crazed. Aiming the knife at Veronica's throat, Sera's eyes were bloodshot, the same black liquid stained her face.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Sarah yelled.

"Nothing, nothing at all. HA...HA...HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Sera's laughs sent chills up Leon's spine. "I'm just hungry." Suddenly their was a shuffling in the wreckage, and Sera turned and looked at the plane.

"They're back!" Sera yelled. "They won't get me. NOT ME!" She dropped Veronica and ran into the wreckage only to be hit with a laser and distintegrated. Leon walked towards the wreckage to investigate the shooting, while Sarah made sure Veronica was okay. He turned the corner into the plane and found that the bullet had come from a familiar source: Amata.

"Leon? Thank god it's you." She said.

Leon looked around. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I got knocked out by the crash. I woke up about ten minutes ago to be honest. I didn't expect to see Sera had gone mad." Amata said.

"Do you know why?" Leon asked.

"No. All she kept saying was: We are Coming." Amata's words struck fear into Leon's heart. He had heard them before: From the guard who died at the Citadel.

Suddenly, John came in, pistol raised. Sarah filled me in. "Is everyone okay?" John asked.

Leon looked at him. "We're fine, but we have a problem." Leon stated, handing him a holotape with the Infection data on it. Whatever attacked the caravan in the Capital is here in New York. John looked at the data with curiosity.

"Why does this look familiar?" John asked himself.

"We found a trail of black liquid." Leon said. "I analyzed it, and come up with one result: Blood. Highly toxic blood. No red or white cells to speak of. To top it off that Infection was growing all over it."

"After it was outside the body?" John asked.

"Apparently." Leon said.

"We'll analyze this when we can, but in the meantime did you find anything we can use?" John asked.

Leon looked at him. "Yeah. I found a Chimera and Two Hummers. Nothing else."

"Let's hope Ulysses found something." John said.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Ulysses said as he entered the wreckage.

"What did you find?" John asked.

"A few more corpses, mutilated beyond recognition." He said, handing Leon a crumpled wad of holotags all blinking red, with the word Deceased running across them. Saxon, Rouge, and several other's he wasn't familiar with. All killed in a single assault by an unknown enemy. "I also found these." Ulysses said, taking out a box of grenades and a case of AER-14 Laser Rifles, put into production after the Mojave Attacks.

"Those would help." Leon stated, grabbing a rifle.

John grabbed several Incindeary Grenades. "How long till you can get those vehicles working?" John asked.

"About ten minutes or so." Leon said.

"Then get to work. we need to get to the rest of the crash sites before the Faction or whatever else realizes there were more survivors." John said.

Leon ran off to the humvees, Amata close behind. John stood with Ulysses for a minute before speaking. "What could have done this?" John asked.

Ulysses glared at him. "Madness is impossible to understand. Most say it comes from fear and paranoia."

"But you think differently?" John asked.

"Yes. Because you see Courier... There is nothing to fear but fear itself." They walked away, unaware of the four-eyes watching them from the nearby building.

* * *

After succesfully reactivating the engines on the Hummers and Chimera, the team left for the second crash site, hoping their luck would hold out with the Faction. They had been navigating the roads for almost three hours now. Along the way they passed ruined buildings, burned out homes, and looted empty stores. It made John sad as he sat on the turret of the hummer, he hadn't seen something this bad since Chicago. Occasionally, they would pass a giant rat or a mutated bug, but for some reason so far they had not encountered the Faction. They apporched the crash site, the flames still fresh and burning brightly on the horizon. It made John remember something Lanius had told him after Hoover Dam when discussing the Legion's retreat from Nevada and Utah.

"The day I return to the Colorado is the day you will be pinned to a cross to watch your world burn, Courier. It will be a glorious battle for the Legion, and the greatest defeat for you."

He felt that at this rate, with the Faction and Supremacy One, it wouldn't be Lanius who would make him watch New Vegas and the Mojave die around him. He was snapped back to life when he heard the sound of energy weapons being discharged ahead. Rolling up to the sounds of battle, he saw the fighting. Three Faction soldiers stood defiant in a small convieant store, while the planes wreckage was being used as cover for New Vegas forces. Two Brotherhood Paladins were using the wreckage of the planes wing as cover, while eight New Vegas Sand Marines, hid behind metallic crates and hull from the plane returning fire against the Faction.

The team didn't waste time. The Hummers drove up first, the Ulysses's piloted Chimera close behind. Leon and Amata drove their Hummer in front of the Sand Marines, with John opening fire with the turret on the top of the vehicle. Leon pulled out a sniper rifle, loaded with Saturnite Bullets, and opened fire, killing one man with a headshot and wounding another with a shot clear through the knee. Meanwhile, the second Hummer, manned by the Tribals, Sarah and Veronica, rolled to the side and picked up the paladins. Veronica manned the turret and opened fire on the store as the Faction retreated further into the store. Ulysses drove the Chimera through the store and used a secondary Incindeary cannon installed on the side of the vehicle, killing the wounded man. With only one soldier left the Tribals left the second hummer and ran into the store. The Faction soldier stood at the back of the store, in a storage-room. The tribals advanced with .45 Auto Submachine Guns and .45 Pistols. Suddenly, the soldier tuned a corner and fired a wide arc of lightning. It burned one of the Sorrows, forcing Follows-Chalk into cover while the other Dead Horse stupidly opened fire. He ended up being struck with a sphere of energy putting him on the ground. Walking-Cloud ran forward with her Yao-Guai gauntlet, dodging several bolts of lightning. She tore down the chest of the soldier as he threw her to the ground, the soldiers chest bleeding heavily. Before he could execute her, Follows-Chalk jumped to his feet and killed the enemy with the Submachine-Gun.

John dropped out of his Hummer. He walked towards the commander of the Sand Marines.

"Name and rank." John demanded.

"First Sergeant Darius Jefferson." Special Forces. The commander said.

"Are you all that's left of your unit?" John asked.

"Yes sir. We had four dozen men, some were killed in the crash, others were killed by Faction soldiers..."

John noticed him hesitate. "What is it?"

"There were these... Things, sir. I only got a few glimpses of them, but that was enough. I saw men disappear into shadows, and all that was left of them were stains on the wall. There were twenty of us who survived the crash. Eight were killed by the Faction, four were taken by the creatures."

Leon jumped out of the Hummer. "What did these things look like?" Leon asked.

"I can't even describe them." Darius said. "They looked... Decayed. Almost decomposing. Like they were dead."

"So ghouls then?" Leon asked.

"No... Nothing like ghouls. The breif looks we got at them. I couldn't describe them specifically, but they had this feeling about them. Dread, Death, Evil." Darous said, shaking.

John looked at Leon. "Find some vehicles." John said. Leon nodded and left. "Are you okay to fight?"

Darius hesitated. "Yeah... Yeah we're good." He said, standing up with his assault rifle.

"Good." John said. "Be ready to move, we have a long road ahead." John walked away. While he seemed confident, these things were bothering him. It struck a terrifying thought to his mind: If the creatures weren't alive, how do they kill them?


	16. The Siege of Staten Island

Hey guys, I'd just like to say thanks. This last chapter I got six reviews. Big milestone for me, I usually only get about three per chapter. Those reviews also put this story at 48 reviews, I'd like to pass fifty in this chapter.

There are quite a few new things that surface in this chapter. It might be a little confusing, though, so be warned.

* * *

CyberJordan: Yes, I'm sure Umbrella has plenty of leftover T-Virus Facilities in the Post-War world. It's not another Faction, it's another monster.

Oddliver: You got it right, but which one? Got to keep going to figure it out...

Slovous: Thanks for the compliment, that's very high praise. As for the story, Hope is all they have right now, it's going to get a lot worse, before it gets any better.

jake111: It might take more than that. Nice reference none the less.

ejthepinoy: Yes, It's a vicous cycle of ass kicking. From bad to worse to complete hell in a manner of weeks.

crosawood: You really, really should. (I don't think you realize it, but you actually guessed the name of them correctly.)

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Chapter 16

The Siege of Staten Island

So far their resistance on Staten Island was functioning and actively battling the Faction. They recovered a SAM, two Chimera's, and a Vietnam-style troop transport from the first crash site. They moved out on board their vehicles towards several more crash-sites. At each they continued to recover supplies and soldiers from the planes, with similar encounters with the Faction. What actually disturbed John and Leon, however, was the similar tales of atrocity by these unknown creatures. They knew nothing about them, and only heard stories of their brutality. No one mentioned a description, and mostly said all they saw were very shadowy and decayed hands, but they also said that they heard shreiking. A terrible shriek that struck fear into the most hardened veterans.

Whatever it was it wasn't attacking them anymore, and they had rallied a force to destroy the weapon and make the first push into New York. The had a total of Three SAM's, Eight Chimera Tanks, Ten Hummers, Two Transports and Fifty extra men. The full force rallied just south of the weapon coordinates, a park on the Island, only to see the park had been completley altered. Rather than grass and trees, their was thick blanket of steel on the ground. Small Buildings loomed over the coating as the army scouted out the location.

The Park and it's surrrounding areas had been coverted into some type of military compound, and it was armed to the teeth. At least twenty eight-man patrols were out at any given time, as well as a battalion of soldiers scattered around the northern half of the compound. Their was a make-shift airfield and armory located on the eastern half of the compound, with several barricks located on the east along with a castle like structure most-likely the weapon housing facility.

The airfield was by far the largest part of the compound and was filled with fighter-craft that would make the Zeta aliens stand in awe. Their design was strange: Chrome like plating, with orange lights running across them. They had a design comparable to a Boomerang, with thrusters at the bend as well as a single turret, while cluster-missles lined the wings. All in all the fortification seemed almost invincible, but they knew if they could destroy or disable the weather-control weapon reinforcements could deal with the rest.

John stood at the staging ground as they prepared for the assault. Leon and Ulysses stood with him as they spoke to the army they had assembled.

"All right. Here's our plan of attack." John explained. "We're going to split into three groups to draw the attention of the assault forces on the far end of the compound. Group Alpha, led by Sarah and Ulysses, will consist of the majority of our forces. Your objective is simple: Enter the eastern end of the compound and create as much chaos as possible, diverting forces away from the rest of the base."

"Group Beta, led by Leon, will assault the complex on the far northern end of the compound, equipped with a bomb. There is a control-center located there; deploy the explosive in the control-center and detonate it. That will cripple there operations across Staten Island and will most likely scramble their remaining forces and throw New York into disarray."

"Finally, Group Delta, led by myself, will undertake the most ambitous part of the assault: Destroying the Weather-Control Weapon."

The soldiers began to mumble among themselves. Murmers of decent and questioning leadership surfaced, swiftly put down by Sarah Lyons.

"Silence. Let him speak." She stated.

"I know what your thinking." John declared. "That no one is coming back from this. That it was ambitous from the beginning. I'll be honest, you're right. But if we don't act, the Faction will continue their rampage. Thousands more will die, and no one will stop them. We have to act."

The murmers died; they all knew he was right. John continued on. "The target is the weapon, our goal is to destroy it with a concentrated burst of energy. A rapid burst of energy weapon discharges should be enough at point blank range. John said. But if that fails we will order an Archimedes II strike on the compound."

"Isn't that a little extreme, sir?" One of the soldiers asked.

"It would be our only other choice." John replied. "If we can't occupy the compound we will either have to settle for the destruction of the Weather-Control Weapon or die struggling. With that said, anyone who doesn't have the conviction, the grit, or the courage to fight alongside us, leave now. I guarantee you would make it twenty yards before the Faction guns you down."

No one moved a muscle. "Good. Report to your companies. Dismissed." The troops moved towards their commanders, the battle loomed directly over their shoulders.

* * *

Group Alpha advanced first. The bulk of the resistance forces, including all of their vehicles were in this group as it advanced towards onto the compound. It wasn't long before shots were fired and blood ran over the steel sheet on the ground. The Faction fired first, electric bolts flew across the open space as they cut down five men in a single burst of shots. The Hummers drove forward, .50 Caliber Rounds crashing into the thick power armor of the enemy commandos. The Chimeras incinerated twenty more, the Heavy Cannons beat down on the retaliating hostile forces. Troop transports dropped off powered armored soldiers who quickly opened fire with Laser Rifles, pushing forward at a brisk pace.

Ulysses and Sarah jumped off of one of the Chimera's, pressing forward with the rest.

"Keep moving!" Sarah yelled, opening fire with a Gatling Laser. Ulysses ran forward as well ducking behind cover when he could. 12.7mm Saturnite Bullets raced through the air and took down six men in under a minute flat. Suddenly, an artillery shot rang out, seconds later a Hummer was in bits and pieces. They looked to find the cause, but before anyone noticed two Chimera's exploded vicously, massive fireballs flew into the sky as they did. People took cover in the wreckage, Ulysses went into stealth mode, while Sarah dropped to the ground on her stomach.

Ulysses looked around, finally seeing the attackers: Two hulking Mechanized Walkers. They were at least one and a half stories tall and had four legs, which carried a body that was a practical armory. The body of the mech mainly resembled a mix between an APC and a Tank, with three massive artillery weapons based at the top of the deadly machine, while on the front it had six seperate machine guns on the left and three rotating grenade launchers on the right, as well as a small opening for the pilots to see where they were going. In the back was a door that allowed troops to be deployed, as well as armored windows for outward shooting. All in all, it was a mechanical monster.

"Scatter!" Ulysses yelled. "Get to the airfield if you can!" All the soldiers complied, scrambling around as the Chimeras attempted to defeat the walkers. Sarah jumped to her feet and pushed ahead with a small team, making a suicide run to reach the airfield, while Ulysses ran forward, still cloaked, in an attempt to destroy the walkers. Sarah's team opened fire on several more Faction ground forces as they pushed from the open spaces into the cramped corners of the Faction's airfield.

Ulysses dove forward at the walkers feet, dodging multiple shots by Faction soldiers. He pulled out his Submachine Gun again and opened fire with sixty shots. Each of them hit, but not one managed to even scratch the the thick armor on the mech. With cat-like reflexes he jumped up onto the mech's leg, climbing up the mech by using some of the bolts placed into it. He landed on the roof of the mech and took out Old Glory preparing to jam the pole into the the firing mechanisms located directly below the roof. Before he could, however, he caught a glance at the airfield. The aircraft were lifting off in wing after wing turning around as they reached the right height. Ulysses knew what was about to happen: a Bombing Run.  
"Move to live." He mumbled to himself.

* * *

At this time Group Beta had reached the Control-Center, their plan was working. Group Alpha's distraction had succesfully diverted forces from the main complex, and Leon's team was in the process of breaching the base. They were cutting through a wall with a Laser Saw, a device built by Leon after the Pitt. It's original purpose was to wipe out the Trogs. He may have sided with Ashur, but he still was helping the slaves survive before the attacks.

"We aren't going to get in." One of the soldiers said.

"Have faith, Horace." Leon said. The soldier, Horace Trent, shook his head.

"If faith won wars, we wouldn't have endured this." Horace stated. He was a cynical man, 37 years of age, with hardened features, a brown buzzcut and mustache. He was an intiate during the Enclave War and was a knight on patrol when the Capital was bombed. Now he'd been moved up to Knight-Captain and was one of the few who hadn't given up on hope completely. Maybe it was because he didn't have anything left.

"We will avenge those who died in the attack. Elder Lyons and the rest will not have died in vain." Leon declared, confident of his and John's skills as leaders and soldiers.

"I'm not talking about the attacks. I'm talking about this." He said, pointing at the ruins around them. "The wasteland, the Great War, all of it. We wouldn't be living like this if someone hadn't decided to play god with billions of people." Horace stated, his face turning sour.

Leon had to admit, it was hard to take in the fact that the world was gone. To this very day he blamed the people of the Old World for the destruction and devastation, and not just humans. He had found the Audio Log on board Mothership Zeta, where they had tourtured a man for the codes to the U.S missle silos. He didn't know who to blame for the war, but now they had to live with it, one way or another. Suddenly, there was a loud metallic bang, and Leon turned to see that the saw had broken through.

"Let's go." Leon stated, hoping into the hole in his T-51b Power Armor. He pulled out the Gatling Laser, Vengeance, which he had modified with a flash light, a energy amplifier that made it fire the same beams as the Sprtel-Wood 9700 and the AER-14 Laser Rifle, and an high-powered energy-recycler, which made ammo near limitless.

They looked down the large empty hall way in there path. It was about six feet wide, with a seven-foot ceiling. They slowly walked down the hallway, carefully inspecting the floor and walls for laser trip wires and pressure plates. No Faction soldiers to speak off.

"Where are they?" Horace asked. They must be here somewhere.

"Probably out fighting the rest of the task force. I would bet you that-" Suddenly alarms sounded all over the place. Leon looked around and then spotted who had triggered the alarm: Himself. There had been a nearby pressure plate that must have been designed for Faction Power Armor, because the second he stood on it the alarm was sounded across the control center.

"Well, shit." Horace said. The previously empty hall way awakened with turrets and security.

"Kill the intruders." The Security Commander declared. The Faction soldiers opened fire with Lightning Bolts, slashing through two of the ten man team. Leon jumped to the floor with the explosive device, stability on the bomb wasn't perfect.

"Crap." Leon said. "Fire back!" Leon opened fire with Vengeance as the beams slashed through the turrets. Horace pulled out a Plasma Pistol and melted security guards with the weapon. Leon grabbed out a remote detonator. "I'm going to link this explosive to the detonator. If things go to hell we can still bring down the power grid on the facility."

Leon killed another soldier with a Plasma Grenade before continuing with linking the detonator with the timer. Horace fired another shot and killed the commander. Security fell back through the halls.

"Coast is clear. Advance while I prime this thing." Leon said, syncing the timer with the overide detonator. They moved quickly not noticting the swift moving figure dodging in and out of the vents.

* * *

Weapon Housing Base

Group Delta had also been successful in infiltrating their target, however, they faced an entirely different threat. While they had swiftly dispatched any chance of early warning, they were encountering Factions soldiers with a new design. Rather then the standard Bulky Power Armor, they wore a skin tight Micro-Weave of an unknown grey metal, nearly indestructible with helmet armed with a visor that fired concentrated rays of Red Thermal Energy, stored in an energy tube linked on their spine. They were agile, clinging from the walls and ceilings, jumping with near cat-like reflex. They had nick-named them Slayers.

John was pinned down behind a corner wall, as a long ray of Thermal Energy lashed out against the wall. One of the Slayers promptly jumped out from the hall and jumped to the wall opposite the corner wall. John fired three V.A.T.S shots that missed every time. The Slayers had been equipped with some type of V.A.T.S Disruptor, making the weapon essentially useless.

John had been seperated from Group Delta by a rupture in one of the power conduits, triggered by a massive burst of thermal energy from the only Slayer they had managed to kill. He turned the corner wall after spotting multiple Slayers in pursuit of him. He ran forward, using his Pip-Boy to make his way to the weapon control center. He ran down another back hall, spotting another soldier from Delta, one who was with them when the explosion sperated them.

"Soldier, what happpened!?" John asked, screaming.

"The rest of Delta is either dead or missing... I don't know what happened to the rest." She stated.

"Did the Slayers get them?" John asked.

"No... No... I'm not just talking about Delta. I'm talking about the Slayers as well. They were attacking us one minute, then suddenly they were dropping like flies." The soldier continued, panicked. "We came next. For one second we saw some fleeting shadows, then one of our men screamed. We looked for him then two more men vanished. Suddenly people vanished left and right, the only thing I ever saw was a hand... A decomposing hand."

"Great. Another bunch of mystery men." John said.

"These things aren't men. They're... They're..." Suddenly, the lights went off across the hall. It was pitch black, then John felt an irregular shape press against him, quickly followed with something brushing past him with intense force knocking him to the ground, putting him in a state of disorientation. For a second he thought he saw a ghoul, before he heard the soldier scream like a maniac.

"NO! PLEASE DON'T- AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHGGGGGGGGGGG GGG!" Her sound turned from agonizing screams to a long moan to some kind of snarl in a minute flat. The power kicked on and he saw nothing, except for the puddle of black blood sitting on the ground.

"Nightmares are coming to live? Fantastic." John said sarcastically. Continuing his push for the Weapon, he didn't see that the soldier was still present, albiet hardly recognizable.

* * *

Control-Complex

Leon and company were now in a rather desperate situatuion. Having barely passed the hall they were in, now they were fighting mobile turrets rather then Faction Security. Leon had rigged the timer while Ulysses's was being firebombed. Men were dying left and right, now it was crucial that reinforcements arrived.

"We can't keep this up anymore." Horace said, his right arm shot to pieces.

Leon nodded in agreement. "We're dead if we stay here. I'm going to detonate the explosive."

Horace looked at him as he pulled out the detonator. "Lets-" Suddenly, a Slayer jumped from the hall and appeared next to Leon. "Look out!" Horace screamed but was too late. The Slayer thrashed Leon with a thermal blast, knocking him out and destroying the detonator.

Horace shot at the Slayer, forcing its retreat. Horace moved over to Leon, who was completely out cold. "Get him out of here!" Horace yelled. Medics moved Leon out while a lieutenant moved over to Horace.

"What do we do, sir?" He asked.

"Run. Get everyone out." Horace said. "I'll stay here. Someone needs to set off the bomb."

Mobile turrets closed in around them. "Good luck, sir." The lieutenant fled, and Horace found the trigger on the explosive. As the turrets closed in he felt a sense of satisfaction.

"Burn in hell." Horace said. He pulled the trigger, and felt his flesh vanish as he was incinerated.

Outside, Beta regrouped with the still unconcious Leon as they watched an eruption of fire and smoke devastate the base. A satellite dish came crahing down along with the base. Suddenly, the fire bombers fell out of the sky crashing down into the ground in similar fashion to the New Vegas Airfleet. Now it was all up to John to deliever the killing blow.

* * *

John had reached the weapon control center only to discover they hadn't been the only ones inside the base. Through a room modeled like the Project Purity control center, he saw several Slayers engaging an unknown enemy.

It didn't seem to be armed with a weapon, or armor for that matter. It moved so quickly he couldn't even tell what it looked like. Slayer after slayer was being torn in half by the creature. One of the Slayers skeletons had been completely fractured across the spine, the most reinforced part of the Slayer. One of them was killed with the flick of the creatures finger. Within moments the Slayers were dead and the lone creature stood defiant as it tore through the shielding to the weapon. John got close and while he didn't get a good look, but he saw a familiar description: Decay.

The creature looked at him after opening the sheilding looking into the massive elctrical conduit that was the weather control weapon. It looked at him and snarled.

"Human. Pure. Disgusting. Mortal." It said, in a animalistic, ferocious, and decomposed voice.

"What?" John asked.

"Mortal. Die." It said, before diving into the conduit forcing to explode. John barely had time to run before it exploded. John went flying, burned to a crisp as he landed outside. His monocytes healed him up rather quickly as the weapon was destroyed. Almost on instinct, he pulled out his Pip-Boy.

"Ulysses. Radio the airfleet: they have a clear landing zone." John said.

"Roger, Courier." Ulysses replied.

John watched the wreckage fall to the ground, briefly seeing several figure leave the ruins, a shriek ringing out in the night.

* * *

Two days later, the reinforcements succesfully beat the Faction out of Staten Island. They took the Island back and now were advancing towards the Faction Checkpoint on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. A single battalion led by Leon and John as well as Amata and Sarah, approached the checkpoint.

The Faction didn't stand a chance. Seven versus a battalion? Not a chance. They were dispatched in seconds leaving the checkpoint empty. John walked forward first over the bodies and realized something.

"Why is the checkpoint facing Brooklyn and not Staten Island?" John asked.

Leon walked up to him. "What do you mean?" Leon asked.

"It's completely open on this side, but on that side it's completely reinforced." John replied. As if they wanted to keep something out.

"Very perceptive." A voice said. John turned to see a hologram projector, creating the holographic silhouette of an unknown woman.

"Siren, I presume." John said. "Winter mentioned you."

"Indeed." Siren declared. "You must be the Courier."

"Yes. John replied. "I am."

"Then tell me, why do you think it's blocking off Brooklyn?" Siren declared.

"I would assume it has something to do with those decomposing creatures we keep encountering." John said.

"Yes. We call them the Decayed. They are monstrosites needed to be contained and eradicated. I hope you come to a similar conclusion." Siren vanished and the army pushed forward to Brooklyn. A feeling of darkness and evil loomed on the horizon.


	17. Decay

Hello. For those of you who have been waiting for a decription of the Decayed and answers to their origins you're about to see it. The war turns to hell right here, right now.

* * *

Welcome Slovous. Nice to see a new regular reviewer.

CyberJordan: Nasty creation indeed. I took most of my inspiration for them from various Undead in games like Red Dead Redamption: Undead Nightmare. (Yes, I did need to say the whole title) and Left 4 Dead and the Silence and Weeping Angels from Doctor Who (No one lives to know they exist. Usually). Wolfenstein didn't come to mind when I thought of them but that makes sense.

Oddliver: Definitely was not thinking of that monstrosity, but that works too.

ejthepinoy: Not well. That will be explained, but not in the way you're thinking of.

Slovous: Thank you. I was aiming for an insane creature that only the Fallout universe could have. As for the Slayer suits, they don't come off once there on. You'll see soon enough.

* * *

Chapter 17

Decay

As the initial push into Brooklyn had begun, things were tense between the group. Amata had demanded she be brought along. She wanted nothing more at this point then to find her family and leave Siren's corpse in a cold puddle of her own blood. Leon was fearing for her metal state, it seemed to be declining at an alarming rate. She was becoming something Leon had fought to prevent: Remorseless.

Leon himself was pretty shook up. He had been knocked out for several hours, and when he woke up he was told they had won. He had looked up from the medical cot and watched as the B-29 Super-Fortress dropped a barrage of heavy explosives into the heart of the facility onto the Faction's remaining bastion of forces on Staten Island. He wasn't sure about what they were up against anymore. The reports of these encounters with the Decayed were vivid and vicious, yet not a single one of them had gotten a good long look at the creatures, no one knew what to expect. Now they were pressing into a dead city trying to avoid the Decayed and engage the Faction at Manhattan.

John and Leon were at the head of the group, ensuring they didn't encounter or engage the Decayed. Along the way John had noticed something odd, something the Decayed and Faction had no use for. He nudged Leon to look at it. Leon looked towards where John's gun was aiming: a Post-War House, created out of old manufacturing parts and road signs. Leon found the corpse of a Faction soldier on the roof, chained by the ankles and left to rot.

"What in the world?" Leon mumbled, moving his rifle around. He noticed that that wasn't the only building. He looked around and saw they had stumbled into a town of buildings and ruin. Wreckage lay crashed on the ground, bodies of Faction soldiers lay shattered and mangled, viciously mutilated. The Decayed had assaulted the town, that much was obvious, the problem lay with the town itself. The Faction controlled most of New York, at least to their knowledge, and the Decayed were all over Brooklyn, so why was a wasteland town in the middle of it all?

"Spread out." John said. Search all the buildings. The Battalion broke up into teams and began to seach the empty homes and shops. Amata walked into one of the larger homes armed with a fully modified Laser Rifle. She looked through the entry room, it looked as though this had once been a family home.

There were teddy bears all over one of the nearby rooms as well as a burned cradle. Several toys lay scattered about, small building blocks, minature horses, and a little bottle. In another room, there was a two-person bed with metallic framing, as well as a night stand made out of an old stool with a lamp on it. Amata walked over and tried to turn on the lamp, only to see the blood-stained, broken lightbulb on the bed. She turned back out of the room but as she did, she heard a growl. Amata turned around with the reflexes of a cat, raising her Laser Rifle. The growl faded, then rose again. She heard a vent open, then looked above her to see that the air vent above her had been forced open. She immeadietley moved away, rushing back out of the house after throwing a Plasma Grenade.

Leon stood about fifty feet away, noticing the explosion from the grenade but ignored it. He was looking at something quite different: Sandbag Blockades. Each had a Minigun attached, a belt fed ammo box on the ground. Rusted casings lay nearby, a battered Assault-Rifle in the wreck, stained with dried blood. He looked down at the ground just beyond the battlements. Aside from the usual flash-frozen cars, charred and decomposing corpses lay across the ground, bullet holes and broken bones, poking out from the remains.

John walked up behind him and looked into the ruins. "This place is a graveyard. Not a living thing in sight." John said, dropping a bloody teddy bear at Leon's feet.

Leon continued looking out onto the ruins. "This looks like a battlement. They were fighting off something." Leon said, as he examined the weapons. John looked up and saw something fall from the rooftops. He grabbed Leon and pulled him out of the way. The object hit the ground not two feet away.

"What the hell was that!?" Leon yelled as Amata made her way over to them.

Are you all right? Amata asked, helping Leon up.

"I'm fine, but I can't speak for that psychopath!" Leon yelled towards John. "Why did you do that!?"

John looked at him. "Because I just saved your life." John declared, pointing down at the object. As for him, I think he missed his chance. Leon walked over to the object: the corpse of a Slayer.

"Dear god... What happened to him?" Amata asked. John kneeled down and looked at the corpse. He had landed on his stomach, but John recognized he had been killed long before the fall. John rolled the body on it's back, and was taken aback when he saw what was done to the Slayer. The helmet was ripped open, most likely from a malfunction in the thermal visor. His arms were crushed, his face was mutilated, and his armor was a ruin of shrapnel. Their weapons hadn't even dented Slayer armor, yet something tore through it with their hands.

"Decayed?" Leon asked.

John didn't get a chance to respond. Suddenly, a figure ran from a street corner and John took of after it. John took of after it, Leon and Amata tailed close behind. Firing several warning shots from his 9mm Pistol, John barely slowed him down. John dove over several cars, while Leon took a back alley with Amata. John was close to the figure, dodging between several tons of wreckage scattered about. Leon dove forward out of the alley and pinned the figure to the nearest wall. The figure struggled, but was subdued by John when he was shot in the leg. Leon was surprised when he realised who it was.

Amata ran up behind Leon and almost started crying. "Dad? Is that you?" Amata asked.

Alphonse Almodavar was scrambling on the ground in a tattered vault suit as he saw his daughter. His reaction was a surprise all its own.

"No! Why did you bring her here, Leon!? Why!?" Alphonse yelled.

Amata's face was ripe with horror, chills ran down her spine, tears rolled down her cheek, while Leon and John detained Alphonse.

"Alphonse! Calm down!" Leom demanded.

"Dad. It's okay-" Amata tried to start but was cut off by a screaming Alphonse.

"No! It's not okay! Why did you bring her to this hell, Leon!?" Alphonse screamed on, sweat poured from his face, his legs and arms shook like an earthquake. Even without checking, John and Leon could tell he was sick and dying.

"It's all right, Dad." Amata said, calming down. "We can rescue you and the rest of the Vault."

"No! No you can't!" Alphonse yelled. Suddenly, Alphonse's heart rate began to slow. "You can't...The Vault Dwellers...Worse then dead...Much worse...The Faction...They infected us with somekind of plague...Wraith-Plague..."

Those last two words turned John's blood to frozen ice. He walked over to Alphonse and took his pulse. He looked up at Amata with an expression of grimace. She knew what it meant: Alphonse was Dead.

Amata broke down. Her tears drenched the concrete streets, she shook like a tuning fork, and fell to her knees. Leon got her to her feet and held her close, his cold titanium arm was somewhat comforting. While Leon comforted her, what John did next was somewhat creul considering the circumstances. He took out a Assault Rifle and riddled Alphonse's corpse with bullets. Several to the skull and the rest in the torso, Amata screamed as he did.

"You son of a bitch! Why would you do that!?" Amata yelled.

"The same reason I would do this." John stated, coldly. He pulled put his pistol and aimed it at Amata. "Containment."

He fired a shot, but Leon deflected it with his augmented arm. "What the hell are you doing!?" Leon asked, pulling out a 10mm Submachine Gun.

"Those last words he said. Wraith-Plague." John stated. "It's the name of the Bioweapon utilized in the Mojave Attacks. Judging by the fact that you weren't hit by a missile, especially in a Vault, it was most likely distrubuted by the water in your Vault." John continued. "We had a cure and activated it. The effects were suppose to be immunity to all in range, and the cure was air-borne, giving it enough range to reach the Capital Wasteland. We believed it was gone. Old news." He reloaded his pistol. "Apparently we were wrong."

Before John fired, however, he heard a moan behind him. John turned around as Leon looked just past his shoulder. Alphonse's corpse was up and moving, looking straight at him.

"But this is new." John said.

His skin suddenly began decaying down, his hair fellow out by the ton, his body deteriorating at an alarming rate. hshoulder began to pulsate strangely with a large inflammation and growth. Suddenly, the shoulder completely reformed, a third arm burst out and began moving around. The process finished, they looked at the horrifying sight: his body was a decayed mess, his blood was tar black and his skin turned a faded yellow, including the third arm. It's eyes were white with a brownish-tint, and no irises. It was reminescent of a ghoul, but they knew better: It was a Decayed.

It darted forward, throwing John like a ragdoll straight into a stone wall with a single hand. Leon unloaded sixty rounds, some straight through the skull and did nothing but piss it off. The Decayed charged at Leon, disarming him and throwing him on top of the hood of a car. Amata stood only six feet away from the Decayed, which turned and looked into her eyes.

"Dad..." Amata hesitantly spoke, fear and depression filled her voice.

"Human. Mortal. Pure. Kill." The Decayed declared. Before it could move, though, John lodged an Incindeary Grenade in it's back. It blew up and incinerated the creature. Leon ran up behind him, ready to scream, but then they heard what they were told: Shrieking. It was a loud, echoing, piercing, shriek of banshee-like caliber. They turned and saw the source: Decayed. They were in every building, on every street, in every sewer. The piles of corpses they had seen earlier were all Decayed.

They all stood silent then spoke terrifying words.

"We are coming. We are coming for you all."

John stood for a second, before screaming for them all to run.


	18. Among the Angels

Hello. There is something incredibly important in this chapter. I can't speak without giving it away. Have fun finding out what it is.

* * *

CyberJordan: This is the chapter that answers your entire review. Your going to love this. :)

Slovous: I like keeping things intriguing and love having cliffhangers (speaking of which: DumpsterHobo, you still alive out there?) Sorry, Running Joke.

Oddliver: They are in for a surprise return from an old freind. Might help them out of this hellhole.

ejwrites: Thank you. Compliments on my work are always a nice confidence booster.

* * *

Chapter 18

Among the Angels

Silhouette Board Conference Room

Orion stood in front of the Hologram Emitter as it displayed images of New York or the Liberty Zone as Supremacy One called it. A surveillance drone was flying above the city, cloaked, monitoring the escalating situation. John and Leon had awoken a horde of Decayed in Brooklyn and they were all over the Bronx, striking a Faction F.O.B in the heart of the island. Queens was void of anything at all, No Faction, No Decayed, No anything. At least from the surface.

The transporter powered up behind him and Orion turned to see a Supremacy One Commander walk through.

"Sir. Captain Trevor Baxter, commander of the 56th Squadron. Sir." The soldier said, saluting Orion.

"At ease, captain." Orion declared.

"Yes sir." Baxter said, putting down his hand. "What do you require?"

Orion looked at him from the shadows. "I understand your squadron is near the Liberty Zone."

"Yes sir. Our position is strategic in case of a Faction task force escaping the city." Baxter explained.

"Yes, I know. I put you there." Orion declared.

"Yes... Of course, sir." Baxter continued, hesitantly.

"Let me brief you on the situation. Twenty minutes ago, the first traces were discovered of the Wraith-Plague III Virus in the Liberty Zone." Orion stated. "Not seconds ago, Infected, codename Decayed, were revealed to be infesting the city."

"You want me to firebomb the city?" Baxter asked.

"Absolutely not! John Hollister and Leon Stinger are incredibly useful to me. Not to mention Professor Siren. If any of them are killed, it will be your head!" Orion yelled. "Your objective is to ensure they reach Staten Island, then obliterate the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Understood!?" Orion yelled.

"Yes sir." Baxter said, taken aback by Orion.

"Good. Now get out of my sight." Orion stated, coldly.

Baxter left the room, and Orion watched the situation go out of control as the conflict engulfed New York.

* * *

John, Leon, and Amata stood surrounded, no way out. Amata pulled out a Sniper-Rifle, John grabbed out the Assault Rifle, and Leon his Submachine Gun.

"We're not making it out of this." Leon declared as the hordes closed in.

"Yeah, definitely seems that way." John replied. "Anyone got any last words?"

Leon shook his head and Amata was too scared to act. John looked around. "It's been an honor." John stated, reloading as a Decayed closed in. It leaped forward, air-borne, but out of the blue something flew threw the air and stabbed it in the neck. It fell to the ground and attempted to get up, only for the object to explode and vaporize the creature.

John looked towards where the object came from, and was met with a surprise: Reaper.

She threw eight more of the objects he now could tell were Protonic Inversal Throwing Knifes. "Don't just sit there. RUN!" Reaper yelled, as the Knifes exploded. John and Leon took off immeadietly, while Amata heisitated, still shook up from her fathers death. She followed, but not nearly as closly. They fled back to the Battalion, while the Decayed, jumping with the agility of a Tunneler, running with the speed of a deathclaw, and striking with the brutality of a Marked Man, pursued relentlessly.

The battalion was overwhelmed, the Decayed were ripping them apart bit by bit. Sarah stood defiantly on top of one of the houses, shooting the enemies but failing to kill any of them. One of them pounced forward on another soldier on the roof with her. He was shredded to pieces in moments by the ferocious creatures. Sarah turned around and shot the Decayed in the head. It fell from the house, but continued attacking with all its ferocity.

"Come on! Keep fighting!" Sarah yelled, not realizing the rest had either scattered or died. She was surrounded, and hope seemed to have died, then Reaper threw a Makeshift Incindeary explosive. It crashed into the horde surrounding the house, and burned the Decayed, engulfing all of the creatures, but not killing more than six.

"Sarah! Jump!" Leon yelled. Sarah didn't hesitate, she jumped as the creatures scrambled to their feet. Sarah joined the group and they ran off like a bat out of hell.

John and Reaper ran at the front, shooting back when possible. "We've got to get back to the bridge!" John yelled. He fired two more shots and slowed down a few more Decayed.

"I'm not sure will make it that far." Leon said, taking off as fast as humanly possible.

* * *

Surprisingly they did reach the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Even more surprising, ten other soldiers regrouped as well. They weren't alone, however, the Decayed had punched through behind them. They fired back, now having been able to call for several bombing runs, holding out for a short time. It didn't last though. They retreated onto the bridge, taking several casualties as the Decayed pushed forward.

"Fall back! Fall back!" John yelled. They passed over several cars as they opened fire on the Decayed. John looked towards the blockade, but before he or anyone could do anything, they heard the sound of a plane. It was flying at high speeds with incredible force, and it as closing in as John saw it. At first a single jet black Supremacy One Assault Plane flew straight at the bridge, then six more decloaked. The 56th squadron launched a single wave of High Explosive cluster missles that smashed into both sides of the bridge, destroying the blockade, but killing the Decayed pursuing. The attack released thick smoke all over the bridge, eclipsing their vision after knocking them to the ground.

John made his way to the feet seeing several Decayed on top of the bridge cabling and towers. One of the planes had crashed onto the bridge after a Decayed jumped onto the plane.

Leon similiarly got to his feet. "Everyone all right?" Leon asked. He got his answer when Amata cried out in pain. Leon activated Infared, and saw that a large piece of plane wreckage had crashed on her legs and lower torso, crushing her.

Leon ran towards her with John, while Sarah and Reaper retreated with the soldiers.

He ran up to the piece if wreckage and attempted to pull it off of her. "Please... Help... Me..." She said weakly as her body was crushed under the wreckage.

"Don't worry. It'll be okay." Leon said, trying to be comforting.

John opened fire with a .357 Revolver behind Leon, injuring several advancing Decayed. "We can't do anything Leon. The both of us combined aren't strong enough to lift that. We need to leave." John declared, continuing to fire off Saturnite Bullets.

Leon stared John down with a glare of muderous intent. John couldn't speak, he instead heard the sound of Sarah Lyons screaming out towards him. "They're coming back! They're coming back!" He heard her yell. John turned to the right and saw the Stealth Fighters turn around with intense force and prepare to fire. Leon noticed it too.

"I'm not leaving her." Leon said, desperately trying to get Amata out from under the wreckage.

"There's no time." John said, hoping to save Leon at the least.

"I'm not leaving her!" Leon yelled, jumping to his feet and looking straight into John's eyes.

John didn't have time for emotions right now. With all his force he knocked Leon down and out in a single furious punch. "You don't have a choice." John declared. He picked Leon up on his shoulder, and looked down at Amata as her face turned to horror and anger.

"I'm sorry." John whispered. He took off with superhuman speed, and ran across the bridge to the rest of the soldiers. He reached the grounded part of the bridge, and Leon regained conciseness just in time to watch the fires of his hatred for the Courier burn once more. The fighter launched all of their missiles at the bridge. It all came crashing down, wreckage fell, crushing some of the fighters in the process after they were forced under the bridge to evade they're own missiles. One of the great landmarks of New York City was destroyed in an instant and with it, Amata was killed in a fireball of wreckage and if that and the fall hadn't killed her, she would drown in the river below.

Leon couldn't even sit up, he fully collapsed to the ground, going into shock as his closest childhood freind vanished from the face of the world.

* * *

The next day the Courier sent teams into the river with Rebreathers and Radiation Suits. They searched hour upon hour for Amata's body, but none found the corpse. Supremacy One had been thorough, but the Faction was even more thorough. Siren ordered for the recovery of the corpse, and they had succeded. Her spies were very efficient in warning her of major enemy advances and losses.

Siren stood in the Liberty Island base command center. She walked over to surgical bed in the center of the room. The same bed once had Vallincourt on it, now Amata's water stained and tattered corpse lay there instead. Siren took out a tuning-fork shaped object and stabbed it into Amata's chest right at the heart. She jumped to live with a jolt of electricity. Water burst from her mouth, spilling onto the floor, as her lungs regained air. Amata looked around in a panic and saw Siren's face. Siren came very close and whispered something to her.

"You are going to tell me everything you know about the Lone Wanderer and Courier. Then you are going help me destroy them."


	19. Reaper's Revelations

Hello. I got through this chapter very quickly. (Couldn't sleep last night, figured i'd write until I got tired) Glad people are enjoying the approach to the endgame. I also would like to say while I said Chapter 11 was the half-way point, it was probably best to have taken that with a grain of salt because I realize that I can't finish this by Chapter 22.

* * *

CyberJordan: Siren may not have made any mistakes. She doesn't have any humanity left and the Decayed are the living proof... Then again I'm not sure I can classify either of them as alive anymore.

Oddliver: While that would be useful, seeing as though a bullet to the head did nothing to them, short of complete and total disintegration (and I mean TOTAL Disintegration) nothing will help them now short of Flamers and Incendiary weapons.

jake111: That was the point. She is more than just Sadistic she is pure evil. Oh and by the way: YOU SHOULDN'T SHOOT EM IN THE HEAD!

DumpsterHobo01: Good I can cancel the funeral. Glad you are still around. :)

Slovous: I will try my best to answer a few of those questions this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 19

Reaper's Revelations

For days, Leon was comatose. They had evacuated him off of the battle worn bridge and managed to move him back to the former Faction Base, now the New Vegas Command Center in New York City. The war was coming down hard. The Decayed had overun the Bronx, Brooklyn, and had surfaced from a nest under Queens. The war had gone from bad to all out hell in a matter of days. Sarah sat at his bedside waiting for him to wake, while John and Ulysses discussed the massive loss they had endured, with help from the still practically unknown Reaper.

Four days had past and nothing changed. Leon was down and everyone else was being obliterated and demoralized by the losses and enemy advances. From the surface of Leon's status, he seemed to be out cold. Inside that coma, he was in a world of pain. He dreamed in the coma. He dreamt that he was in a hellish nightmare back in the destroyed Capital Wasteland. Leon looked around in this nightmare world, and saw constant ghosts from his past, all being killed by a very current threat.

First his father was thrown to the ground and executed by firing squads of Faction soldiers. Then Elder Lyons was torn to pieces by Decayed. Leon started running, faster then he could ever run. He passed the steel yards of the Pitt, the toxic swamps of Point Lookout, and the cold, icy cliffs of Anchorage. He saw fire in the skies, the ruins of Mothership Zeta, before reaching a bridge on the edge of the world. In front of it stood Amata, with a hauntingly cold gaze.

"You didn't save me." Amata said, an unemotional tone to her voice.

"I tried-" Leon attempted to start.

"And you failed." Amata declared. "You failed to stop the Courier. You failed to save me. You even failed to save yourself."

Leon started tearing up. Amata started walking to the edge of the bridge. "Follow me." Amata said.

Leon went after her. She walked like a ghost. "With you out of the picture, the Courier is left to wage war alone. He will fail, and the Faction will burn the world around him." Amata declared. She stood at the edge and looked back at him with a glare that would have made most men die of fright. "You need to make a choice. Awaken and fight the Faction alongside the Courier or die here."

Leon pondered it for a moment not sure if there was any hope left at this point. "Then he came up with his answer. I'll help him. But I promise you will be avenged."

"I expect nothing less." Amata said, she then dove off of the bridge. Light broke through the nightmare and he woke.

* * *

Leon gasped for air in the medical center. Sarah was startled when she saw him jump to life. He almost immediately sat up in his bed. He severed the life support machine attached to his body and stood up.

"Leon! Calm down!" Sarah yelled as he grabbed a Merc Grunt outfit from a nearby locker.

"Where's John?" Leon asked, pulling out his 10mm Pistol from the locker.

"You're not in any condition to-" She was cut off when Leon fired three precise shots at the wall behind her and created a perfect triangle. She looked back at him and knowing there was no changing his mind, pointed him to the Command Building.

"Thank you." He walked out of the medical center to a crowd of surprised Security and Doctors, none willing to meet his gaze. He continue onto the ruined airfield and made his way to Command Building.

* * *

John, Ulysses, and Reaper all stood over a holographic map of Brooklyn, in the process of making a world-altering decision.

"It's your only option." Reaper stated. "It may be difficult, but it is humane"

"I beg to differ." Ulysses said. "What your suggesting isn't even remotely humane."

"It doesn't matter, it's my call to make." John stated.

"No. It's not." Leon said, jumping from behind the doorway.

John was slightly surprised he had awoken so quickly. John was expecting Leon to be out cold quite a bit longer after a punch from him. Then again, he wasn't a normal man.

"What are you planning on doing?" Leon asked, pulling out his pistol.

Reaper looked at him. "This is the best the Capital Wasteland has?" Reaper asked John.

"I wouldn't underestimate him." John declared. Leon, calm down.

"I'm not calming down!" Leon yelled. "You made me leave Amata to die on that bridge."

"It was that or leave you and her to die. We need you, and while Amata died, she knew the risks; You knew the risks."

Leon had to admit he knew Amata would have stopped at nothing to destroy The Faction and Supremacy One, even if that meant dying for her cause. Leon lowered the gun, and Reaper looked straight at John.

"You are far too reasonable." Reaper said. "That attitude will get you and everyone else around you killed."

"I'm not going to change. John said I won't drop to Orion's level and I certainly won't drop to yours. Now tell him everything you told us." John demanded.

"Fine. Join the friends you've already lost in oblivion." Reaper said, walking towards the holographic table.

"As you no doubt are aware, you are under siege from an enemy known as the Decayed, as well as the Faction." Reaper started. "I have your answer to destroying the Decayed and the Faction. However, you must first understand what the Decayed are and why they exist." She activated a control console on the table, and it showed a devastated ruin in the Bronx. "This was once a place of science in the days before the Great War, a government research facility designed to cure disease, at least on the surface." Reaper pressed another button and revealed a crushed underground complex. "In the depths of this facility, the deadliest diseases known to man were being weaponized the by the Pre-war American Government. New York was to be a testing ground for these viruses. A staged failure in the facility's security, releasing viruses and contagions all over New York City. However, as you all know, before any of this could be executed, the world ended." Reaper then revealed images of one of these labs. "The failure in containment protocols became very real. Without power and without human ability, the facility failed to contain any of the contagions, nor incinerate the remainder of the structure and the catacombs below. The plagues interacted and fused, creating the Wraith-Plague which was weponized by the Faction upon their arrival in New York. Back then there were hundreds of wastelanders here, all were became Decayed when the Faction test fired the Wraith-Plague here."

"You're telling me... the Faction tested this on people? There were thousands of them out there!" Leon yelled.

"And there are about ten-thousand more all over New York." Reaper asked. That thought terrified Leon, Reaper simply continued on. "I have devised a chemical weapon to counter the Decayed. I call it Pendulum." She handed Leon a vile of a Dark Red Compound. "It disintegrates Decayed on contact."

"Tell him the catch." John demanded.

Reaper hesitated, then spoke. "It also disintegrates all organic matter on contact." Now Leon understood what choice they were talking about: Whether they killed any survivors in Brooklyn. Leon then realized something: Reaper had said that the Faction had weaponized the Wraith-Plague.

"Explain something to me, Reaper." Leon demanded. "If the Faction weaponized Wraith-Plague... How did Supremacy One get it?"

Reaper looked at him. "Supremacy One? What the hell is Supremacy One?" Reaper asked.

"Supremacy One? You attacked two of their agents in Redemption? Ring a bell?" Leon asked. John similarly looked at her with suspicion.

"I've never heard of a Supremacy One." Reaper declared. "I believed those men to be Undercover Faction soldiers." Leon shook his head, while John walked up to her.

"You have never heard of them? Supremacy One? They were responsible for the attacks on the Confederacy last year and indirectly responsible for the destruction of the NCR." John stated.

"I was told you had destroyed the NCR, your home. That the assault on New Vegas was a Coventry Blitz to destroy the NCR. I didn't want to believe you were responsible, I didn't even know you were actually alive or even that you were the Courier until I saw you up close."

Those words: I was told you had destroyed the NCR. John knew who sent her. Who the Grim Reaper represented...

Reaper was an Inquisitor of the Revolutionist Federation.


	20. A Final Warning

Chapter 20

A Final Warning

Ulysses pulled out his gun, and aimed it at Reaper. "I should have known the Major was involved. Only his people could devise a weapon like this."

Reaper looked at him. "Wait! You don't understand-"

"I understand perfectly. You are an Inquisitor, a Spy. The Major sent you to infiltrate our ranks." Ulysses accused. "I doubt you even knew the Courier."

John was just as suspicous, but it didn't explain the memory flash in the Capital Wasteland. It also didn't explain her knowledge of the Faction and the technology she possesed. The Revolutionist Federation wasn't equipped with either, at least to their knowledge.

Leon hadn't been informed of the Revolutionist Federation's existence, nor of the ongoing guerilla war between them and the New Vegas Confederacy. "Who the hell is the Major!?" Leon yelled.

John looked at him then looked back at Reaper. He didn't speak a word.

Reaper broke the silence. "Listen to me! I don't represent the Federation or it's goals. I was ex-communicated not long after the Major's Inquisition was formed. There is a lot you don't know and a lot I don't know." Reaper declared. "You can interrogate me later, but right now the Faction is your concern. The Pendulum Compound is not a Federation weapon. I designed it for the exact opposite purpose: to help bring them down."

"Why would we use that?" Ulysses asked.

"It's not for you. You aren't the only ones fighting them." Reaper revealed. "You're also not the only ones fighting the Faction."

John opened his mouth but could not speak as a soldier ran into the room.

Sovereign! He yelled, adressing John. Faction aircraft have landed on the airfield!

John took that very seriously and ran out the door, Leon tailed close behind.

* * *

The soldier had been telling the truth, three of the Faction's Aircraft had landed near the medical center. Leon and John quickly drew weapons, running towards the aircraft as soldiers surrounded them. Twenty Faction soldiers walked off of the aircraft, behind them eight Slayers, and two more using armor and weapons unlike anything they had ever seen before.

One of them was wearing what looked to be a Chinese Stealth Suit mixed with Tesla Armor, with a gas mask on their face, with a sort of spear with a vicous point shaped like a pincer generating electricity.

The other wore massive, thick, hydraulic armor, with their wrists having two, 16-Inch in diameter, interlocking, rotating, kinetic generators, and four talon like robotic tips forming a four pronged claw in place of their hand. The second figures armor was truly massive. They must have stood at seven-feet tall, with there armor looking almost like a cross between Preacher and a Samurai in design, but with armor as least as thick as a tank, and two huge turrets on their back, as well as a practical armory on it's belt and near limitless ammunition from the recyclers in between the turrets. It wore a Helmet that looked like a Vault Security Helmet but a completely blacked out Face-Sheilding and a thick shifting metal peice almost latched to the neck giving away no skin.

John and Leon ran forward as soldiers, Cyber-Hounds, and Robo-Scorpions aimed to kill. The figure in the Gas-Mask, walked in front of the already defensive Faction soldiers towards John and Leon both aiming their weapons at them. The second unique soldier walked up behind the Masked Figure.

"Ah, the legendary Courier. We meet in person at long last." The figure stated, bowing. John's elite perception quickly matched the sadistic voice with the face behind it.

"Siren." John declared, hatred in his voice.

Siren's glaring teal eyes were quite visible through the mask. He couldn't see the rest of her face, but he could tell she was smiling. "Very good. I see that at least some legends are true." She turned and looked at Leon. And this is the Lone Wanderer. Siren looked up and down at Leon from his Titanium Arm to his augmented face. "I remember the stories describing him as being more human. Dissapointing. Cyborgs don't have the same emotion as they die. Ruins the joy of the kill."

"Could you spare us the sound of your voice? It makes my skin crawl." Leon stated.

John looked back at Siren, his hatred very evident. "Why are you here?" John asked.

"To discuss a cease-fire."Siren revealed.

"Cease-fire?" John asked.

"To engage against a common foe." Siren said, a sense of poetry to her voice. "Orion and Supremacy One. You've seen what they are capable of, and I'm shamed to say it's only the beginning. The Wraith-Plague, Preacher, The Advisor, the cannon under the Commonwealth, all the first steps in his march to Utopia."

John looked at her eyes, their sadistic glare burning through his mind. "What makes you different?" John asked. "Why shouldn't I just kill you?"

Siren laughed." I'm sorry to say but there are only two people who can kill me..." She said, taking of her mask, and revealing a horrifying sight.

"...And you're looking at one of them." Siren declared. John nearly had all of his insides playing Soccer, Rugby, and Lacrosse all at once inside his chest cavity. Siren's face was ancient, no hair, faded grey skin, and a layer of wrinkles, but the most horrifying thing was dark solid black carbon-nano tubing outlining all of the features of her skull like a mosaic.

"I've been alive longer then all of the ghouls on the planet, same goes for Orion." Siren stated. "We stand on opposite sides of the same coin, him and I. Supremacy One seeks Utopia, we seek to ensure they never reach it. Hence why I created the Faction and hence the devastation in the Capital Wasteland and the surrounding regions. It was the staging ground of what would of been the endgame. In exchange for thousands of lives we effectively have delievered a set back that will push Orion's plan back months, even years. Siren smiled. Your defiance at the Spearhead had already successfully pushed them back a year, giving us time to launch our own campaign. If you and I were to work together our combined resistance could defeat Orion."

John looked through her ruse, unable to forgive her cataclysmic massacre in the Capital, and knowing there was a hidden agenda to this. "I know our place: Standing between the people of the world and the Tyrants and Killers like you and Orion." John said, taking a stand.

Siren smiled, murderously. "I know you plan to take Manhattan. Know that when you do, my Commodore here will destroy you." She said, pointing at the mechanized giant next to her.

Leon entered the conversation again after a long silence. "Not if we kill him first." Leon said, confidently.

"Oh, Wanderer. I think it's only fair to warn you that if you enter Manhattan, your world will end." Siren started laughing with a sadistic tone that would have made the Joker cry out in fear. Siren's forces made their way back on the aircraft. Within minutes they left and John radioed Ulysses.

"Let Reaper go. Prepare to launch a barrage of Pendulum loaded missiles into Brooklyn. It's time to take the war into Manhattan."

* * *

An hour before dawn they launched sixteen missiles loaded with all of Reaper's compound directly into Brooklyn. Upon contact with the air, it turned a faded yellow and was rampant all over the island. The Decayed broke up into airborne particles of ash as the chemical killed all remaining lifeforms in Brooklyn before dispersing. As dawn broke the full might of the New Vegas Task Force was on the Brooklyn Bridge and the Air-fleet was in the sky as the Battle for Manhattan began.


	21. Razing Dawn

Hello. I'm particularly excited for this chapter, it's the beginning of the endgame. We only have four chapters left, and when it's done I'm going to start something new. Something only partially related to Fallout. Those of you that are faNs will probably enjoy it, this in the meantime will probably be done in 7 days, and CyberJordan has succesfully helped me along with Resolution, so expect more of that. (There is an unsubtle hint in this paragraph as to what the next story is related to.)

* * *

CyberJordan: Your senses don't lie. The Courier is about to learn that right now.

Oddliver: Hope I don't let you down.

Slovous: You won't fall. But I'm not pulling you back up.

* * *

Chapter 21

Razing Dawn

The Faction was quick to retaliate in force as the New Vegas war machine took control of the bridge. The Central Park Faction Airfield launched every single strike fighter into a hellish inferno triggered by the attacking aircraft. A single Warhawk flew over the airfield and with a burst of Saturnite Machine Gun fire knocked out two counter-strike fighters. The remaining launched after him while Modified Avenger Torpedo Bomber launched corrosive missile at the the control tower. More and more Mechanized Walkers, which they had codenamed Crusaders, lifted out of the ground, turning all cannons at the sky. Not entirely smart, for below, First Strike Infiltrator Groups made their way onto the Island, throwing cables that forced the Crusaders to the ground, and naturally their crews to their death.

The B-29 Fortress flew over the Manhattan Skyscrapers, dropping mass amounts of explosives into the streets below, successfully raining hellfire down onto the already nuclear flash-frozen streets, killing freinds and foes alike. Planes were being struck with anti-aircraft fire all over the skies. Flak and Shrapnel rained into the streets like a thunderstorm, cutting up all sorts of soldiers.

The Task force set up a strategic operating base in a dock nearby the Brooklyn Bridge. From there, they were orchestrating the entire battle. Ulysses flew through the sky with the Raven, scanning the ground for their command base. Sarah was commanding a task force at Wall Street, their line in the sand. They controlled everything south of it and struggled for everything north of it.

John and Leon stood over the holographic table as the relentless hell spread across Manhattan. "All forces update." John stated over the radio.

"This is Ulysses. I believe I have the enemy command base." Ulysses stated. "Their is a decent margin for error but it appears to be the Empire State Building." Ulysses said. "They have placed anti-aircraft guns all over constuction railings and frames, eqch of which is lined to the brim with Faction soldiers. It's easily the most fortified location in Manhattan, that would be our best bet."

"This is Sarah." Sarah said, entering the Comm. Channel. "I agree. We should reach it in the next couple of hours. Our forces are advancing far ahead of schedule. We've taken six blocks north of wall street, and are taking ground from the Faction very quickly."

Only one thing in that sentence caught John and Leon's attention. "Confirmed? We're advancing faster then expected?" John asked.

"Confirmed." Sarah replied.

Ulysses caught on from John's silence. "It's a trap, isn't it?" Ulysses asked.

"Almost certainly." John declared. "Question is: What's the snare?"

Within seconds they had an answer. Ulysses saw it first, then John and Leon's instruments went off the charts.

"I'm detecting a massive energy build up at Liberty Island." Ulysses said, looking out his window at lady liberty. Suddenly the torch lit up like it was Christmas. A beam of Faded Orange Energy lashed out from the Torch, cutting the Super-Fortress out of the sky and destroying several Warhawks.

"Evasive Action!" Ulysses yelled.

"Ulysses!? What's happening!?" John asked.

"They have somekind of energy weapon! It's tearing us apart!" Ulysses said, narrowly avoiding the beam that was relentlessly destroying every single fighter it could, Confederacy or Faction. "We have to fall back, were no use as long as that thing keeps firing."

John closed the Comm. Channel and tried for Sarah. There was no response. He tried again, still nothing. John knew it now and Leon did to: Manhattan had been a trap from the start.

Leon and John shared a simple glance and they were on the move, heading to the Vehicles.

* * *

John and Leon drove off in a Hummer, John on the turret and Leon driving. They quickly realized just how well Siren had played her cards. Wall Street was overrun, Slayers and Crusaders were trampling over there defense position. John was first to act killing several Slayers with a burst of 50 Cal. Rounds, tearing through the Slayers. Leon pulled out a Pulse Grenade and with a single V.A.T.S throw managed to land it inside the Crusader. It collapsed to the ground, the controls fried.

The remaining Confederacy forces and Chimera Tanks, were at the stock exchange. Sarah was on the rooftop, sniping Slayers with a Scoped Laser Rifle. John unleashed hundreds of bullets tearing down the Slayers. Sarah saw them approching and gave the order to focus on the Crusaders. One squad took to the street, diving from building to building, car to car, strafing the cannons, while another team took to the rooftops providing a distraction for the mechanical monsters. The ground team threw a magnetic cable around the Second and Third Crusaders pulling the mechs into each other as it closed smashing the massive mechanical beasts.

They drove up to the stock exchange and saw Sarah. "Thank god. You got here." Sarah said.

"What happened?" John asked.

"They came out of nowhere. One minute it's quiet, then armies of Slayers just started coming out of the damn walls. Those Crusaders backed them up." John looked at Sarah, then heard his Pip-Boy go off. He pulled it out and looked at the alert: UNKNOWN SIGNAL INCOMING.

He opened a Comm. Channel. "Hello?" John asked.

"Turn around." An unfamiliar voice said.

"Who is this?" John asked.

"Turn around." It said again. John turned around and saw a still intact Slayer Suit, the helmet and the man inside missing.

"Activate the Slayer Suit and put it on." It continued. John looked at the Pip-Boy.

"Not until you tell me who you are." John said. Leon latched on to the Comm. Channel in secret.

It avoided the question. "Your freind, Leon, may be more useful to me. He would ask less questions for the chance at vengeance."

Leon hopped on at this point. "What do you want?" Leon asked.

"What I want is for me to know." It declared. "Just know that if you don't listen, you won't even reach the Empire State Building." The channel closed and Leon started moving..

Leon walked up to the suit, and looked at the open suit. He looked back at the group and Sarah nodded as he put it on. It suddenly latched into his spine, reforming itself to his standards. His mechanical arm remained where it was the Slayer suit did not latch over it. He suddenly was electrocuted as energy flooded his body. John ran forward and pulled a transmitter off his back, disabling it's link to the Faction.

In those breif moments, Leon got a full view into the Faction. His mind was very nearly lost in a sea of data. That's when he heard Siren's voice echo in his ear.

"I knew you would give in. I knew you would do anything for her."

John got him up on his feet. "Are you okay?"

Leon was hit with such a shock to his nervous system, that he could barely remember half of what he just saw, while the other half was gone completely.

"Yeah... Yeah, i'm fine." Leon said. "Hand me the transmitter. I can make this fight a lot simpler."

John reluctantly gave him the transmitter. At lightspeed, he hacked the Faction Data Network. Suddenly, they heard explosions on the horizon.

"What did you just do?" John asked, concerned.

"Set the Slayers loose on the Faction. They're no better then the Decayed at this point." Leon said.

John and Sarah both noticed a change in the Lone Wanderer. "Are you okay?" Sarah asked.

"Never better." Leon said. "Now would you mind helping me get this suit off?"

Sarah complied, activating the release mechanism on the suit. "Alright, now come on the route to the Empire State Building should be clear." Leon said.

Sarah brushed off the change in his attitiude, but John couldn't. He was getting the ominous feeling that he may have to do something far harder then ever before.

* * *

Leon was correct on both accounts, they had succesfully turned the Slayers into Savages and cleared the route to the Empire State Building. Upon arrival everything was mainly calm.

John and Leon jumped out of their Hummer while the Chimera's rolled up.

"Seems empty." John said.

Leon looked at him. "Maybe they saved us the trouble and threw themselves off of the roof." Leon said, again seemingly showing a change in personality. Suddenly, Leon was prove to be half-right, for within seconds something jumped from the building. It fell at incredible speeds.

"Move!" John yelled.

The thing hit the Hummer, crushing it on impact. It was the Commodore, Siren's mechanized giant, from the day before, fully armed for war.

"You were warned. Time for your world to end." It said, a completely synthesized voice.

It opened fire, with it's massive guns, decimating the entire force. John and Leon dove for cover. Sarah hoped onto one of the Chimera's and watched the Commodore tear apart their efforts to defeat the Faction. It grabbed the second Chimera and picked it up with Hulk like strength, and threw it at the other forces, killing the majority of them. It moved over to Leon's cover spot, before picking it up off of the ground.

Time to die- it started. However, he wasn't there. John shot a bullet straight into the Kinetic Generator on it's right arm by diving from his cover, before Leon dove onto and over the Commodore jaming a piece of metal into the left Generator. It fell backwards before John and Leon forced it down. Unable to move and the Kinetic Genrators ripping themselves apart, it looked up from the ground at John and Leon.

"Not a smart idea." It said. The computer on the armor started counting down.

"Bomb!" John yelled. He and Leon dove to the ground as the machine exploded. Fire burst forward and started burning severely with a yellow-white flame.

Leon and John got up and looked at the flames.

"Well, that's that." Leon said. Suddenly, a blue light began to glow inside the flames emerged forward, shredding Leon's Recon armor and skin.

"You can't kill me that easily." A voice said from the flames. It was not the Commodore's though, it was an all too familiar voice.

"No..." Leon murmered.

The Commodore was Amata.

She walked out of the flames wearing a smiliar suit to Siren's from the day before, and the same mosaic skull modification as Siren.

"You're mine, Leon." Amata said, aiming the gun at his head, her eyes cold and remorseless.

"Wrong." A loud booming voice yelled. They turned and saw a massive creature jump from another rooftop and land on the ground. It was a Decayed, but much different looking then anything they had seen before.

"You all belong to me now."


	22. Showdown

Hello. I'm glad people liked the revelation at the end of last chapter. Three chapters after this and were done. Hope you enjoy this.

* * *

CyberJordan: No one saw it coming, and thanks for that. My favorite part of Fallout is all of the choices. You make a choice and get immediate results.

Oddliver: Sorry, as good looking as she is, I had to have a villain who could hit Leon where it hurts.

Slovous: Answers await in these two chapters. After this one, however, you will have a foothold.

tlgreys: Yes I know, hence why the Courier has them, he certainly didn't get them from China or Alaska.

* * *

Chapter 22

Showdown

The new Decayed's arrival triggered a cold rush of fear in the team. First Amata's revelation as Siren's elite, then this creature. It was horrifying to see that not only had they survived, but seemingly evolved. It was ten feet tall, had four massive arms, it's eyes were dark crimson, black irises, and insect like pincers over it's jaw. Other than that, it still retained all other human and standard Decayed characteristics.

"I am the Impurity, the true master of the Decayed, as you call us." It said, looking at John. "You are the one who launched the missiles that burned our home and killed my sons." It roared. "You will pay." Impurity continued. It looked at Amata. "You bare the taint of the Siren. You will be cleansed in blood."

Amata kicked Leon to the ground. "Sorry, Leon. Wrong day to die." Amata said in the same sadistic tone as Siren. She ran back towards the side railing of the Empire State Building. The Impurity roared to charge, but John dove forward and knocked the giant to the ground.

"Leon! Don't let her escape!" John yelled, fighting off the creature.

Leon immediately followed that order, dashing off in pursuit of Amata. John was thrown from the creature, and it stared him down.

"You will be the first in the rebirth of our people." Impurity stated, running after him. "You will not deny me my righteous vengeance!"

John just barely had time to motion Sarah to flee before the Impurity hammered him with punch after punch with the force of a super-sledge.

* * *

Leon was chasing all over the massive contruction railing all over the Empire State Building. It had been put there to hold weapons and make ascending the skyscraper easier. It was not designed to play cat and mouse on. Amata fired back at Leon whenever she had the chance, while Leon didn't have many places to avoid the blasts. She threw several grenades back at him, none actually stayed on the construction platforms.

"Amata! Stop! I can help you!" Leon yelled.

Amata looked back at him and shot him in the shoulder. He crumpled to the platform in pain. "I don't need help! I need you to die!" Amata yelled, sounding nothing like the girl Leon had grown up with. She contiued her ascension of the skyscraper, while Leon began to slide off of the platform.

Leon fell off he fell a good six stories but managed to grab one of the contruction steel shaft poles. He held on to that rail a second, no longer having a straight route up. He started climbing the rails on the side of the tower, hoping he could make up the lost ground in time.

* * *

John was getting his ass kicked, there was truly no other way to describe it. He was being thrashed around like a ragdoll by the Impurity, his chest being crushed by massive punches. Any normal man would have died after the first hit. He was dodging like a frog jumping to the right, then the left. Yet the hits kept coming, and even John had his limits. He pulled out his 9mm Pistol and opened fire, but the bullets just deflected off of the thick skinned creature.

"You can't stop me. I was the first child of the Decay, and I watched my family and freinds change around me, becoming mindless animals. I faced the full force of the Faction when they tried to purge us. What makes you different?" Impurity snarled.

"I'm still human." John replied.

"Perhaps. Then you'll die like one." It charged at him, John was so exhausted from this thing, he couldn't dodge in time. He went flying towards the wreckage of the Chimera, hitting it with extreme force. He damaged the still powered Incindeary cannon, causing it to crackle with electricity, and realized there was a long, sharp, jagged piece of armor. He picked it up, cutting his hand while doing it, and waited for the creature to charge.

The Impurity laughed. "A piece of reinforced steel? What good does that do you? If you wish to commit suicide, go ahead." He contiued to taunt.

John stood his ground, and the Impurity laughed again. "Very well, die struggling." It charged at him with incredible speed and force. What the Impurity hadn't realized was the steel wasn't going to stab him. John waited till he was in optimum vacinity and stabbed the steel into the Incendiary Cannon. It fired off one last overload shot and launched a huge fire ball at the Impurity. It couldn't stop itself now and hit the fireball head on. It began to burn and was stopped as it was immolated by the blast. It fell to the ground, and John tore out the steel yet again. He walked past the flaming corpse and continued on, but then he heard something: "Wait..."

John turned around and looked straight at the Impurity, it wasn't dead. Not yet anyway. He walked over to the body and looked down at the Decayed.

"Thank you...This form has held me prisoner...for as long as I can remember." It said, sounding strangely human again.

"You're welcome." John said, hesitantly.

"You believe...that we were condemned to this form...For a test?"

"How-" John realized he didn't have time to ask. "Isn't that what happened?" John continued.

"No...the Siren arrived with her Faction...They claimed this city for themselves...we defied their rule." It continued.

John knew the truth now. What the Impurity said next confirmed it.

"Don't make the same mistakes we did..." He took something out of the torn cloth around his waist, and handed it to John. The Impurity then collapsed to the ground, dead.

He looked at the object: a Platinum Pocketwatch. It had something engraved on the inside of it.

When the Good Starts Dying, the Bad Starts Rising. A Darkness claims the land. Defiance shall rise, it's human nature. To defy these evils, to defy this darkness, to defy that which is not human. However know this...

The Price of Defiance may be far too high.

John closed the Pocketwatch and put it in his pocket. Rushing towards the Empire State Building, he now understood why the Decayed existed.

* * *

Amata reached the rooftop where a Evacuation Hovercraft arrived.

"Commodore." A soldier said.

Before she could reply, the soldiers collapsed dead, and another shot hit the pilot and his controls, causing the craft to fall out of the sky.

Amata turned to see the shooter was a vengeful Leon. He was holding an Anti-Material Rifle.

"When will you learn not to go looking for trouble?" She asked.

Leon stood his ground. She smiled, sadistically. "I remember this: You always have to save the damsel in distress." She said. "You always liked to stand up for me against Butch and his lackies. At this point, I think it might be better for you to save yourself. I certainly don't need it." Amata continued.

"What happened to you?" Leon asked. "We can reverse it. We can save you."

"I don't need saving!" She yelled, shooting the Anti-Material Rifle out of his hand. "You think your the Alpha Dog, don't you? You, Leon Stinger, always the calvary, riding in to save the day."

"Amata..."

"No! Don't even open your mouth! I'm speaking, and you will listen." Amata declared, contempt and spite in her voice. "You've never been anything but a pain to me! You left the Vault, forcing me to take up the mantle of dealing with the a deadly situation. You came back and defused it, only leaving me with more problems. Nine years later, we're doing fine until Supremacy One came, and then you, when I came to ask you for help, cost me and the Vault Dwellers our home. All you've ever been is destructive, but you had to bring peace, you had to restore order, you had to put out the fire."

"What are you talking about?" Leon said.

"Siren showed me the truth: The only order in the world is chaos, and you have to fuel that with savagery and confilct. Civilization can't reuild just to do this again." Amata stated, pointing out onto the war torn cityscape. "I wasn't forced into becoming this, she said I could remain dead, but when I knew I could make you pay, I volunteered."

Leon was heartbroken. He finally asked her the question she wanted. "What do you want out of me?" Leon asked.

"I want you to beg. Amata declared.

"What?" Leon asked.

"Beg! Realize your mistakes and beg for mercy." Amata said, grimacely staring him down, modifications and all.

"You think I haven't realized those mistakes before!? Leon yelled, anger in him sending fear to Amata I was wrong to leave the Vault in shambles like that, I was wrong to let it be destroyed. I was wrong! Okay! But my father had abandoned me and you know that! I went out searching for him, and that's when I realized the world was in a lot more pain then you ever could be. I had to make harder decisions then you ever could. And you know what!?" Leon yelled, staring down a now fearful Amata.

"DON'T TALK LIKE YOU'RE AMATA! YOU'RE NOT!" Leon yelled. He was done taking this, and he pulled out a 10mm Pistol, the very same that she had given him the day he had escaped the Vault, and opened fire. He disarmed her, first then ran up to her with brutal force. At Point Blank Range, he shot her in the legs, then the arms, then the chest then aimed at her head as she was near the edge of the building.

"You're not Amata." Leon said. "You may bear her skin, her voice, and her body. But Amata died on that bridge."

"What are you going to do? Kill me?" Amata taunted.

"No. You aren't worth the bullet." Leon declared, lowering the weapon. "Go back to Siren and tell her she failed. She hasn't broken me, just strengthened my resolve to destroy her."

Leon began to walk away and Amata's anger brewed. "That's it!?" Amata yelled. "Come on! Fight me! Kill me!" She pulled put a second beam pistol and got her wish. A shot was fired that hit her with extreme force in the chest, only the triggerman wasn't Leon, but John. He was holding the pistol Joshua Graham had sent him, A Light In the Darkness. Leon was paralyzed for a moment as John looked down a stunned Amata. John looked into her eyes and said one word: "Done."

He unloaded another round straight through her heart, and the force of the shot sent her over the edge of the building. If the shot didn't kill her, the fall would.

Leon looked at John in shock, while John's face remained cold. Across the city the armies of the Faction retreated with the death of their commander. They had won Manhattan but it was a Pyrrhic Victory. The Task Force was decimated and any chance of Leon and John fully reconciling their differences died with Amata.


	23. Alpha Dog

Nothing really to say with this chapter, although those of you who have wanted to see Leon and John go head to head one more time are about to get your wish.

* * *

Oddliver: That's not how I intend to have him get over Amata.

Slovous: Sorry about that. To me that was the best way to end that chapter.

crosawood: Definitely. Sadly, though, it's not over yet.

* * *

Chapter 23

Alpha Dog

After recovering Amata's corpse, John and Leon managed to call for evacuation. Within minutes, a low flying Vertibird arrived. They moved the corpse onto the Vertibird and sat on opposite sides of the Vertibird, neither man willing to meet the others gaze. The gunshot still echoed through Leon's head, as he looked at Amata's lifeless corpse. John held no remorse for his actions, and was prepared to do anything now to wipe out the Faction. He knew Leon wouldn't forgive him, but he didn't care anymore. The Courier looked up briefly at Leon. He looked down at Amata's shattered corpse. Leon looked up, while John looked back down. Their was an unspoken hatred, neither approved of how the other operated, neither was willing to admit this was their fault. Leon looked at John as if he had been given life on a silver plate, while John looked back at Leon with the feeling that he didn't understand the magnitude of the threat they faced, or that sacrifices had to be made. Neither truly understood what the other had endured in the past. They felt the Vertibird shake; they had landed at Staten Island. Sarah, Ulysses, Reaper, and Veronica stood outside the Vertibird. The door opened, and Leon exited with Amata's corpse. Sarah was taken aback by the fact that Amata was dead. Despite what had been done, she had expected her to come back alive, a prisoner of war at the least.

Leon put the stretcher carrying her body down. Sarah grabbed him. "What happened?" Sarah asked, concerned for Leon. Leon didn't answer, but instead looked at John as he walked off of the Vertibird, handing Joshua Graham's Pistol to Ulysses.

Ulysses looked down at it, then looked back at John as he walked towards the command center, a silent shadow. Sarah noticed Ulysses concern.

"What is it?" Sarah asked.

"This was given to him with a fully loaded clip. Ulysses said. "It's lighter then before, two bullets lighter to be exact."

Sarah realized why they were silent. "I'm sorry Leon." She said, putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't touch me." Leon replied, anger in his voice. He pushed her hand off of his shoulder, walking towards the makeshift firing range.

The group stood silently as the two heroes of the wasteland walked alone.

* * *

John stood in the Command Center, pondering the days events. He knew he couldn't convince Leon that what he had done was the right thing, it was hard enough convincing himself. He looked down at the map of New York, they had liberated the city, but now the hardest part of the campaign was underway: the Taking of Liberty Island. They had known it wasn't going to be easy from the start but now it was going to be infinitely more difficult. The Faction's unprecedented show of force with the Liberty Torch had cost them the B-29 Superfortress and a critical number of fighter jets. The Task Force wasn't even going to get close with that weapon at their disposal. It was going to be another Pyrrhic Victory if anything. They were losing far too many people in this conflict.

John was so distant in thought, he didn't hear the door open behind him.

"What are you going to do, John?" Someone asked. John turned, startled, to see Reaper.

"The same thing I promised Orion, I'm going to erase every trace of the Faction from existence." John declared.

"You think it's that simple, don't you?" Reaper asked.

"Nothings ever simple." John said.

"You single handedly just alienated the Lone Wanderer, and most likely the entire Capital Wasteland Brotherhood." Reaper said. "How do you intend to defeat the Faction without support?"

John looked at her. "Ulysses trusts my judgement, and the Old World Guard would follow him to hell and back."

"Are you sure that is enough?" Reaper asked. She looked at his eyes and knew their was no changing his mind. Reaper then brought up something that surprised John. "I won't be joining your crusade. I'm leaving tonight."

John hesitated to reply. "Have a nice trip. Barely knew you." John replied, coldly.

Reaper began to walk away, then stopped and looked back at him. "If I may give you a piece of advice. I believe that despite Siren's intelligence, she would have given access codes and such to one of her top operatives. Think on that for a moment."

She left the room, and John stood their for a moment, before realizing what she had meant.

He activated the Intercom to Ulysses. "Prepare an Autopsy Table."

* * *

Leon stood at the edge of the firing range, using a Laser Rifle to hit his targets. Bullseye every time, he began using short range weapons to try and hit Long Range Targets. His hatred for John burned brighter than ever. When Leon had been willing to spare Amata and let her go, John had ruthlessly killed her, with no regrets and no remorse. He had been too cold, too ambitious for his actions. Leon still didn't fully know the backstory to the Courier. To his mind he had been a Vegas Playboy who was given life on a silver platter. While his fighting skills were something to be admired, he didn't act like the stories. Leon still didn't believe them all, the main one's being the story of the Divide and how Benny had shot him in the head.

He turned to see Sarah approaching him.

"What do you want, Sarah?" Leon asked, firing another shot.

"I wanted to check and make sure you hadn't committed suicide." Sarah said, sarcastically. "Are you okay?"

He fired another wave of shots and looked at her. "What do you think?" Leon asked.

"I know how much Amata meant to you, but you can't dwell on it." Sarah declared. "Her body had been modified by the Faction so much, I doubt she was willing to it."

"No. No. NO!" He yelled, firing three more shots. "She said it herself, she asked for it. Amata blamed me for all the troubles of the Vault back in the Capital. She wanted revenge. She told Siren everything about us, our defenses, our capabilities. We attacked Manhattan in time to scatter their forces, that's the only reason we are still alive."

Sarah was taken off guard by what Leon said, but didn't have time to talk for a Brotherhood Paladin ran up behind her.

"Ma'am, they took the corpse of Amata Almodavar."

Leon looked at the Paladin first. "WHAT!?" Leon yelled.

"They took her corpse, we believe it is for an Autopsy."

That threw Leon straight over the edge of sanity. He ran towards the command center with an intent to kill John.

* * *

Leon stormed through the halls, pushing everyone out of the way as he made his way to John. No soldier tried to stop him or even stood in his way, they knew the consequence. He reached the command center, and was met with only John looking down at the map of New York.

"Hollister! What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Leon yelled.

"What is necessary." John said, calmly.

"Cutting up Amata!? Like a slab of meat!? That is necessary!?" Leon continued to yell.

"She may hold the answer to accesing Liberty Island. It's our only option."

"NO! NO! NO! You are going to call them off and figure out some other way. You leave her alone!" Leon yelled, drawing his 10mm pistol.

"You want to do this again, Leon? Fight me to prove your point?" John asked. Leon didn't back down. "Then so be it." John said, drawing his own 9mm pistol.

They both locked on to each other with V.A.T.S and opened fire. The bullets narrowly missed each other mid air as they passed each other flying towards the other shooter, they both shot the guns out of each others hand. Leon charged him running him through the window on the other side of the room. They fell two storied from the command center. The fall didn't even slow either of them down. Sarah and Ulysses were immediately called out as the fight raged on. Leon used his mechanical arm to deliver a monstrous punch to John's ribcage. John drew his Katana and slashed Leon multiple times. Leon drew Jingwei's Shocksword, and sparks flew as their swords met. Ulysses and Sarah knew their was nothing they could do: this fight had been coming for a long time.

John's mobility and strength overpowered Leon. After several brutal strikes, he shattered Jingwei's Shocksword. John threw away the Katana, not willing to fight a man at a disadvantage. John kicked Leon to the ground, but Leon scrambled to his feet, They were both exausting each other. John was slipping up, and Leon was taking advantage of it. He jumped behind John and smashed him in the nerve cluster just next to the spine. He was paralyzed for a moment, but the monocyte breeder quickly healed him. John quicly dodged an uppercut from Leon, then punched him straight in the stomach. Leon fell to his knees, no longer able to fight.

"What are you going to do, Courier? Kill me, too? Go ahead, I'm done fighting." He said, brething very heavily. "You're that ruthless, aren't you? Willing to kill allies for the greater good? You're no better then Eden or the Enclave."

John punched him into the ground. "Listen to me, Leon. I didn't want to let Amata die, I didn't want the Faction to get their hooks in her. I leave no one behind if I don't have to, but understand something: You defy me, you challenge me, you anger me and you will endure my wrath. I earned my legend, and I will live up to it."

John walked away and Sarah rushed over to Leon. The Lone Wanderer looked up at John for a moment, then grunted and got up. Sarah helped him over to the medical center. John had proven who was the Alpha Dog.

* * *

The following morning, the Autopsy was done and Reaper had been correct. The codes were in a neural chip in the back of her completely redesigned cerebral cortex. They now had a way in and were preparing for the final battle. Leon had fully recovered from his fight with John, and stood with Sarah at the back of the Raven. John and Ulysses were setting up for the assault in the cockpit. Reaper was gone, she had kept her promise of leaving. The Tribals and Veronica started up a Vertibird and were heading back to New Vegas. If John or Ulysses didn't come back, they had named a successor as Sovereign of New Vegas: Veronica. John got on the radio and called for a final stand-by order..

All forces. check in and respond. John announced. They all quickly responded.

This is it. We're pushing to take Liberty Island. You we're all there in the Capital. You saw the destruction, you saw the death, you saw it all. You saw the Decayed, you saw their reign of destruction. It ends now. All forces lift off! Siren dies today!


	24. Steel Vengeance

This is it. The final battle is upon the Courier and Lone Wanderer, and while they may hate each other now more then ever, they've got to cooperate one last time to finish off the Faction. Siren's final hour is here.

* * *

Oddliver: Wow. Maybe you should have gone to bed and had a hangover in the morning, before reading the previous chapter. No offense intended, just taking a guess about how your morning went.

Slovous: Just as a heads up. You may fall off of the cliff and be holding onto the Marianas Trench by the end of this.

Dumpsterhobo01: I disagree. The Courier's been shot in the head, betrayed multiple times, had to raise an army and secure allies, all the while being forced to look at the darkest corners of post-war civilization. (In my opinion the Legion was more civilized then the NCR. They were at least built on solid foundations versus a shaky and completely unstable Bureaucratic Nightmare) I know the Lone Wanderer has been through a lot in this story alone, but unlike the Courier, he holds on to what innocence he has left.

Superstar kid: You have no idea how smart you are. The last chapter will pretty much sum up all of the Amata situation, so hold on a little bit longer.

* * *

Chapter 24

Steel Vengeance

The aircraft lifted off in one massive formation. Everyone on board knew that despite the Faction's defeat in Manhattan, the Faction would still put up semi-organized resistance. This was immeadietley proven when a formation of Strike Craft immeadietley lifted off to hold them back. The Courier anticipated such action and gave the immeadiete order for the Warhawks to open fire. They responded and with manueverablity and skill the pilots easily destroyed the strike craft as the planes approched the island.

Siren stood in her lair, watching the attack begin. "This is a bold move." She said to herself. Siren placed her hand on the intercom. Destroy them all.

Ulysses detected it first. "Their powering up the Liberty Torch!" He yelled.

"Launch the Counter-Strike." John said.

Ulysses did just that. He uploaded the codes. The torch and Liberty Island's power dropped like a stone.

"So they finally learned." Siren mumbled to herself as the base began to panic. Their was a screen in front of her. It read: Master Overide 101.21

"They're defenseless." Ulysses declared.

"Time for a Blitzkrieg." John said, smiling as the Final Assault began. First, Avenger Warplanes carrying Cluster Bombs dropped their payload on to Liberty Island, obliterating all patrols on the island's surface. The Faction scrambled what was left of their air force, but it didn't matter. Warhawks made short work of them with a simple burst of machine gun fire. The second wave began with the Vertibirds deploying forces onto the island surface. Ash rose from the scorched surface of the island, the cold chill of the New York air brushing against the solid force of the Powered Armor Soldiers. The Faction emerged from the the entrances to the base under the Island, putting up a desperate stand. Their lightning weapons launched high powered bolts at the Confederacy forces. They took some casualties, but the Task Force pressed on, finally done with the Faction. They opened fire with their rifles, machine guns, pistols, and sniper rifles. For once, the Faction was scared. Against an army with the intention, the conviction, and the fury to end an empire, what chance did these disorganized killers have? None at all. The Faction was being cut down like the animals they were, as Vertibirds rained White Phosphorus down on their only reinforcements.

The Task Force pushed the Faction soldiers into the narrow halls of the Liberty Base. Their was nowhere left for Siren and the Faction to run. The base itself was made of narrow halls, black reflective walls, and blue energy cabling running on the surface of the walls. The darkness didn't stop the advances of the Task Force. Faction soldier's were out-gunned, out-numbered, and out-manuevered at every turn. The guts and grit of the Task Force soldiers was brutal on the Faction. Team after team made thier way through the base shooting and killing

John and Leon raced through one of the main halls while Ulysses and Sarah secured the island perimiter. Faction soldiers attempted to counter them in the narrow hall hopeing to bottleneck the soldiers, but their commanders were tactically outmatched by the Task Force leaders. Two soldiers peaked from behind cover; their last mistake. Leon and John gunned them down, dead before their bodies hit the ground.

Before they moved any further, John heard looked down at the soldiers corpse.

"Hang on." John said. "There is a communicator in his helmet."

"So?" Leon asked.

"We can use it to monitor their emergency transmissions. Just let me... Oh god." John's heart sank like a stone when he saw under the helmet. The soldier didn't have a face, he didn't have hair or skin or muscle. Under the helmet was a very dead skeleton.

"What the hell is this?" Leon asked John, horrified at what they were looking at.

John looked around the skull, seeing a faint, but visible burn on the skeletons facial features. "They must have dug into the skull with a Surgical Laser, done something to the brain." John placed his hand on the weakest point of the burn and dug his hand into it. He ripped the skull open, revealing an even more horrifying revelation. Their wasn't even a piece of Organic matter in the skull, not even the rotting or decayed organ. No brain, no cerebral cortex, no anything. Instead their was a steampunk like processor and machine parts lining the inside of the cerebral cavity.

Leon almost threw up at this point. John opened up the rest of the armor, to find that the entire body was consisting of nothing more then steampunk cabling and machine parts controling the skeleton. The skeleton was just a base for the machine parts controlling the suit and in turn the soldier.

"They use corpses like puppets!?" Leon yelled. "That is sick, that is just sick!" Leon's anger rose to unreasonable levels, it was desecration to use someones corpse like this.

John pulled out a grenade. "Rest in piece." John said, pulling out the pin. He dropped the grenade as they moved out of the way. It exploded releasing shrapnel and burned the corpse, putting a long dead man to a much needed rest.

They continued to march down the halls, unaware that was probably the least disturbing thing they were going to encounter. They were quickly apporching Siren's Command Center, unsure of what to expect.

* * *

Ulysses flew overhead alongside the task force. Other than a few stray strike fighters, they had no problem patrolling the skies.

"Anything on radar?" Ulysses asked over the radio.

"Not even a fly." One of the pilots on the Vertibirds said.

"This is Sarah, our ground soldiers have secured a foothold underground and we are secure up here. It all seems like things are falling into place rather nicely." Sarah said.

"Yes... A little too nicely." Ulysses mumbled.

"Don't be so paranoid, commander. The Faction's running scared, we should be... Wait, hang on..." The other pilot was preoccupied with something.

"What is it?" Ulysses asked.

"Something just set off long range sensors... it's approching fast... It's not one of ours."

"That's impossible! We destroyed all of the Faction's aircraft!" Sarah yelled.

Ulysses looked at the sensor on the Raven and figured it out immediately. "It's not the Faction! Evasive maneuvers!"

The object appeared in visual range and at first looked like a thick black cube, then round thrusters appeared on thick steel shafts from the side of the object. It also had a a rear hovercraft-like propeller. It launched two red bolts of energy that went flying ahead like missiles, smashing and destroying several Vertibirds. That's when Ulysses saw it: The word Supremacy in thick mechanical design, written across the side of the object.

It was obvious now Supremacy One was definitely not out of the game. The aircraft launched several more energy bolts decimating their air support. It got close to Liberty Island, dropping off but one figure.

It was a man, at least it looked like a man, wearing some type of armored hood and cloak resembling a Paladin from the middle ages. Holes were abundant in the cloak, yet no one could see through the hood or under it. It was a white and chrome color, shiny and new.

Sarah's forces moved to intercept the figure.

"Halt! Stand down and surrender!"

It looked up at them. Revealing just two almost neon white dots for eyes, and a thick mask under the hood. All armored.

"Hello Sentinel. I see you have succeded in defeating the Faction." A familiar and malevolent computerized deep voice continued. "Tell me: is Siren still alive?"

"Come on men." She whispered. "We can't let him through."

"So she is." It said. "Well then, you've outlived your usefulness. Time to die."

Sarah's men opened fire but they weren't quick enough. The figure dove forward with super human speed and tore the men apart. He took pne of their laser rifles and shot the man who was using it. Then he revealed two orange power gauntlets on his wrists, and unleashed his fire. A single beam, a miniature version of Liberty Torch, slaughtered the squadron. The second gauntlet did something very different to Sarah. It fired a circular pulse that hit her and suddenly paralyzed her, similar to the Compliance Regulator. She was left stunned unable to warn Leon or John about what was coming. That left Ulysees to deal with the aircraft, and try to warn the oblivious soldiers inside.

* * *

Leon and John stood next to the entrance to Siren's Lair. They opened the door and moved inside.

"Siren!" Leon yelled. "We know you're in here! Come out and die like the devil you are!"

There was silence for a moment, then a very faint clapping.

"Well done. Someone has finally bested me." Siren said, walking into the light. "Perhaps their is hope for this world after all."

Leon held a Plasma Defender at point blank range. John held down Leon's desire for revenge.

"Siren, you're finished. The Faction is all but destroyed, and right now I'm holding the right of Judge and Jury; Leon gets Executioner."

"All fair, but before you do, would you let me have some final words?" Siren asked.

John nodded at Leon, then looked back at Siren. "You have five minutes."

"Thank you." Siren said. "I once said why the Faction exists; I said that we exist to counter Supremacy One. While I said that with honesty, it's not why we came to exist."

"Is there a point to this, Siren?" John asked.

"Professor Siren." Siren corrected. John was surprised she said that. "I told you I've been alive longer then any ghoul on the planet. That was very true. I was the chief scientist of a Pre-War operation known as The Odyssey Project. Founded in 2265, the goal was to create advances in the field of medical research, augmentations, cybernetics, the very machines that keep me alive."

"Three minutes." Leon said.

"In the years before the war, we were tasked with undertaking the greatest scientific endeavor: Creating an Artificial Intelligence with the capabilities to understand and even integrate with humankind."

"What does that have to do with anything?" John asked.

"Naturally this type of thing can't stay secret, even though it should. This lead to intervention by the United States Government. They wanted to weaponize it, create an A.I capable of infiltrating the enemy in disguise, hack military networks, and prove to be a trump card in the war with China. Our backers were killed, and the Odyssey Project became the Supremacy Project."

Now Leon and John understood what this meant: She was the original leader of Supremacy One, she was the one who promised Utopia.

"Did you succeed?" John asked. "Did you create an A.I?"

"Unfortunately, yes. We we're successful, and to this day I regret it." Siren said.

"How many?" John asked.

"To my knowledge, One, and to put this into full perspective: It's the reason the Faction exists."

John's heart almost stopped with those last few words. Leon's body froze, unable to even hold his weapon. The puzzle was complete: The A.I was Orion.

Suddenly, the door was shot open and the figure from above walked in.

"Oh, Mother. You should never speak i'll of your child." It said. John immediately knew the voice: Orion. He raised his lethal gauntlet and fired a beam of energy. It hit Siren and turned her to ash in seconds. Leon pounced at him, his full vengeance denied, and was quickly shot into a wall, knocked out cold.

Orion lowered his weapon and looked at John. "I was hoping to have killed her before she told you my secret, but better late then never, as your kind says." Orion taunted. He looked at him, removing his hood, Orion's face revealed to be a faded grey human-like face, his eyes having black whites and neon blue irises, no nose, and obviously no hair. He had a mouth, all bio-mechanical muscles, and all bio-mechanical joints.

John looked him down. "Why do all this? Your programming and ideals were to integrate and learn from humans. Why attempt to overthrow me and claim control?" John asked.

Orion looked at him and grinned evily. "Look at the name. The answer lies there." He said, activating his own Pip-Boy-like device. "It's funny. When we last spoke, it was through the body of a dead woman, during your assault on the Spearhead. Back then I believed that the information I required could only be achieved through conquest and casting damnation down on your kind. As it turns out, all I had to do was introduce you to the Lone Wanderer, and both of you to the Faction."

John looked at him curiously. "What are you talking about?"

"You mean you haven't figured it out yet? I'm disappointed in you, Courier." Orion snarled. "Your men didn't discover our whearabouts on the eastern coast by accident. I purposely leaked the information, knowing you would come after me. I knew you would cross paths with the Lone Wanderer, and I also knew our activity would draw the Faction out, diverting your attention." Orion smiled at a horrified John. "This was Plan B, this was experiment-beta, this was what I needed. Kill two birds with one stone."

"This was all another one of your games!?" John yelled. "You truly are a machine! No human being could be as sadistic as you are."

Orion smiled for a moment. Their was a moment of nothingness, a moment of anguish and disdain, then the storm arrived.

Orion dashed forward first, charging with incredible speed. John pulled out a Ranger Sequoia, and fired away. Six shots didn't even get close to hitting him. At close range it was no different. The Courier pulled out his Katana and took several slashes at Orion. He jumped over the swinging blade like an acrobat. Orion pulled out longsword that would have made Vlad the Impaler feel total dread. He used it like it was a knife, slashing and stabbing with the agility of a monk and the ferocity of a psychopath.

John's quick defense with the Katana was not enough. Orion had him out matched in every definition of the term. Within second Orion destroyed the Katana, then threw a cable that hung John's feet from the ceiling.

"You know what's funny, John?" Orion asked. He then revealed some types of needles from his gauntlets. He took grasp of John's kneecaps and John could only scream. He could feel the bones, the muscles, the joints, and the veins in his legs being completely eviscerated by Orion from the inside out.

"A Courier who can't walk!" Orion yelled, laughing. He cut the cable and dropped John. He couldn't say anything but mumble and cry out in pain.

Orion looked down at him. "You won't see me again for a long time, Courier. But when the Last Revolution comes to pass, and the true Supremacy One is awakened, then we will truly see who will decide the future of the world." Orion teleported away as he always did and John saw flashlights down the halls before passing out.

The men using the flashlights were lead by Ulysses and Sarah. Ulysses ran in and saw the broken body of his freind, alive but crippled. He didn't see Siren's remains but he knew she was gone.

He picked up his radio. "This is Ulysses. Siren is dead. We've won, but we need medical down here now. The Lone Wanderer is wounded and the Courier is critical. We don't have much time. Move! Move! Move!"


	25. All That Remains

Thanks to all who reviewed, commented, favorited, and enjoyed the story. Special thanks go to Oddliver, Slovous, CyberJordan, crosawood, and ejthepinoy for your regular reviewing, proved to be a nice confidence booster. There will be a third part to this series, i'm currently working out the final details. For now, goodbye.

* * *

Oddliver: Thanks for the compliments. That's high praise. Hope I can live up to it.

Slovous: So many questions, only to be answered in the third part of the series. Hope you can wait for a litte bit.

* * *

Chapter 25

All That Remains

John and Leon were rushed back aboard the Raven, both out cold. John was in much worse shape then Leon. Orion had realeased somekind of advanced nano-virus into his legs. They had eaten everything in his legs and then activated a self destruct, leaving absolutely nothing to study other then the wounds. The damage was so bad that the monocyte breeder was having trouble figuring out where to heal first. Leon had woken first, and told the team of the entire ordeal with Orion. However, he left out the fact that Orion was an A.I. Several hours later, John woke in complete agony. It took the combined strength of Ulysses and Leon to calm him down.

They fit a bio-mechanical mobile frame to his legs, equipped with auto-injectors that released stimpaks and controlled dosages of Psycho, as well as perscribing Buffout and several other Great Khan level Chems, all of which were to ensure he remained able to move. John didn't speak a word of what Orion told him, thinking it was for the best they remained oblivious for now.

As the base at Staten Island packed up their resources, and Ulysses finished downloading all of the Faction's database, John sat aboard the Raven, pondering what had happened over the past few months. He had thought he had seen the worst Supremacy One was capable of back in Oklahoma, the Wraith-Plague, Preacher, the Spearhead, all of it. Now he had been proven wrong. Orion had set it all up to destroy him and Leon at once. The Faction had been a simple bonus. Orion's true endgame was still shrouded in mystery. While the Faction was no longer a mystery, Supremacy One's current motives were completely unknown.

He was deep in thought, then he felt the injectors kick in. His legs were flooded with stimpaks while he grabbed some Buffout and swallowed it. There was quick jolt of pain then it was relieved. He stood up, still getting used to the feeling of the frame. He had been told it would take at least a year and a half before they were healed, and that was taking into account the vast amount of cybernetic enhancements in his body. Orion had been prepared to destroy him, yet for some reason he had left him alive.

John couldn't think about it right now, he heard Ulysses walk aboard the Raven, Leon close behind.

Despite what John had endured at the hands of Orion, Leon didn't feel any different about him. He didn't forgive him for what was done to Amata or anything else.

"Are we leaving soon?" Leon asked. "I want to leave this damned city behind."

John looked back at him. "Did you give the order?"

Leon rolled his eyes. "Yes, Sarah and her group are throwing what's left of the Faction's weapons, technology, and corpses into the river. Their putting all of our casualties into caskets for the ride to New Vegas. Sarah said they would catch a ride on one of the Cargo Planes."

"All right, then were ready to leave." John said, powering up the Raven for the flight.

Leon then looked around and saw a casket on board the Raven. "Who's in that one?" Leon asked. He didn't need John's answer, for within moments he saw the number 101 on top of the casket. He knew now: It was Amata's.

"We're going to make a stop along the way." John declared.

"Where?" Leon asked.

"Where this began." John replied.

* * *

It truly was where the conflict had begun. The Raven touched down in the crater of Vault 101. The three men made their way out with shovels and the casket. They went down to ground zero of the blast site, and started digging. When they finished, lowered the casket into the burial, and filling the gravd. Ulysses walked away and Leon had to ask.

"Why do this?"

"What?" John asked.

"Why bury her? Why do any of this? In the end, she hated us. She wanted me and you to die." Leon continued. John shook his head. This just made Leon mad. "She told me! She said it to my face!" Leon yelled.

"You weren't paying attention. She never hated you Leon and while I know you won't ever forgive me, I do owe you the explanation of why I did what I did."

He looked at John, confused and angry. John simply continued. "She never hated you, she cared about you to the very end. But what she had gone through, before and after the Faction got a hold of her, was a nightmare. A nightmare she wanted to end. She didn't say those things truthfully. She said those things trying to get you to kill her, so the nightmare could end."

Leon just got more angry, while John looked into his eyes with a cold glare, trying to make him see the truth.

"I know you're trying to hold onto what shreads of innocence you have left, but that's not the world we live in anymore." John said, looking straight into Leon's eyes. "The Wasteland was hard before but now... People building civilizations, men who are vain and psychotic rising into power, and groups like Supremacy One. You have to be willing to take risks and make sacrifices."

Leon looked at him for a minute, then laughed. "You're right." Leon said, smiling and laughing.

"Thank you." John said, scared.

"No. You're right that I won't forgive you." Leon corrected. "No matter what you tell me, no matter what you do, I will never forgive you." Leon declared. "I understand that's what she wanted now, but it changes nothing between me and you."

"I know." John said, a solemn look on his face. Leon made sure the grave was firm and solid, then took out something Ulysses had given him. He jammed it into the ground as it unfolded. It was a Flag, made out of Amata's old tattered vault suit and a steel pole.

Leon walked back to the ship and John pulled out the Bible Joshua Graham had sent him.

He recited a breif verse then boarded the Raven. It lifted off from the Capital Wateland for the last time. The Flag stood forever, a memorial of those long dead.

* * *

Silhouette Board Conference Room

Orion stood in the Conference Room, satisfied with what he had done. The teleporters powered up and the Silhouette Board filed in.

He turned and looked at them. "Don't take your seats. You won't need them."

"Sir?" One of them asked.

"I'm intitiating The Archangel Directive." Orion said.

"Sir... That requires a unanimous vote, and our access codes." The man said again.

"I'm sorry. Did I give the impression that you were going to live?"

Orion pounced and the Silhouette Board barely had time to scream as he killed them.

* * *

_**With the actions of Orion, the entire wasteland had changed forever. The Courier and Lone Wanderer had ensured it.**_

_**John Hollister returned home to Cass and his unborn child. It was a welcome return despite the wounds sustained by John. They discovered that the child was to be a son, and despite keeping it a secret from John Cassidy for a long enough time, he found out. At his urging, and with the assitance of Joshua Graham as Priest, John Hollister and Rose of Sharon Cassidy were married not two months after the end of the war.**_

_**Leon's life wasn't easy adjusting to New Vegas. Despite numerous responsibilities towards the Capital Wastelanders, he often continued to wander the wastelands. One day he met a tribe known as the Hallow Skirmishers. One of them, a woman named Cyan, wanted to explore the world. She joined him on his travels, and with his connections to Sarah, their new representative in New Vegas, the Hallow Skirmishers joined the Confederacy. **_

_**In the months following the Daybreak War, as it was called, things became far more diffucult in New Vegas. The mass influx of refugees from the Capital changed the political make-up of the Mojave and Utah. At first they were welcomed with ease. Then things got diffucult. The Capital Wastelanders were confined to fromer Legion territories in Nevada, and while they were given a seat on the Confederacy Council, their was much tension between them and the Confederacy Citizens.**_

_**This was not assisted when the Revolutionist Federation attacked Vault City. Despite the vast amount of soldiers in the city, the Revolutionist Federation was far too powerful in their guerilla war, and they lost the city in a month. A cease-fire was called between the armies. No one was sure just how long it would last.**_

_**One of the many reasons New Vegas was unable to hold out in Vault City, was due to the rise of an Insurrection known as the Minutemen. They proclaimed themselves the force of change that New Vegas needed. Their singular goal: Dethrone the Courier. They attacked Caravans, trading outposts, and everything they could. They were the Minutemen for a reason, they didn't stick around after they attacked, quick but devastating guerrilla raids. It was a war that was a long time coming.**_

_**And War, War never changes...**_


End file.
